


Just a Little Bit of Blood

by wilddragonflying



Series: Roleplays [5]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Aphrodisiacs, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, J2, M/M, Manipulation, New Show, Roleplay, Ultimate Predators, Vampire!J2, Vampire!Jared, Vampires, bit of psychic powers, healing spit, in their saliva, latent venom, post-SPN, post-s5, the vampires are hella magical, vampire!Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-29
Updated: 2013-06-29
Packaged: 2017-12-16 12:39:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/862128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wilddragonflying/pseuds/wilddragonflying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Supernatural has run its course; after five seasons, Jared and Jensen are moving on to Bridge Hills and a new show. But Bridge Hill hides secrets, like the things that go bump in the night.</p><p>After a particularly rough day, Jensen goes to a club and meets James Marsters, centuries-old vampire. James turns him, and Jensen's got to deal with his new life while simultaneously trying to hide it from his co-star, best friend, and the man he's in love with.</p><p>Did he mention they were the same person?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Little Bit of Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Another rp with impalagirl. :) She's amazing writer, go give her your love on tumblr if you like this fic; she wrote Jared and James.
> 
> Oh, and she told me to make sure I say that James Marsters in this fic is the guy who did Spike in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Just so no one gets confused. :')

"Seriously?" Jensen laughed, looking over at Jared with a grin on his face. Jared had just handed him a script, and proceeded to tell Jensen that, since Supernatural was now finished, he had been offered a part in a new series, and they wanted to bring Jensen in as well, as an actor and director. It was from a smaller studio located in Bridge Hill, a city in the mountains of Washington. "Dude, you do realize that they will probably end up making these characters each other's love interest?" The series was the typical opposites-attract, thing. Jared's character, Tom, was a homicide cop. Jensen's character, known only by "S," ran the local crime scene. Tom was a closet gay, "S" didn’t particularly care what gender the person he was fucking was, as long as they were alive.

Jared shrugged, grinning. "It doesn't specifically mention that in the script, but yeah, I figured. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. The fangirls will love it, at any rate." Honestly, the concept of playing a character that was interested in Jensen's character made him a little uncomfortable, but Jared was more than willing to put up with that if it meant working with Jensen again. "Come on, man. It's an awesome opportunity, and not just acting-wise; I know how much you want to direct. Just say yes! Pleeeeease?"

Jensen pretended to think it over, enjoying the way Jared bounced like an overactive puppy. Finally, he let out a long-suffering sigh, doing his best to sound put upon. "Fine, I _guess_ I can come with you," he said, rolling his eyes before looking over the script again. Playing a character like this would be... interesting, to say the least.

"Yes!" Before Jared could even think to stop himself, he had enveloped Jensen in a huge bear hug. "It's gonna be awesome, I promise," he mumbled, grinning from ear to ear. The writers had chosen to end Supernatural at the right time, the show had run its course, but Jared hadn't been ready to let go of Jensen just yet. This new series, therefore, was perfect. Jared would get at least another year of filming with Jensen before they had to go their separate ways.   
When they pulled back, both still beaming, Jared's body acted without his permission once more. "So you wanna get an apartment together?"

Jensen grinned at Jared. They'd been sharing a house for a while, and it was the logical thing to do. "Assuming we can find an apartment that's pet-friendly and will allow Harley and Sadie, then I suppose I can put up with your giant ass for a bit longer," he teased, reaching out to punch Jared playfully on the shoulder.

Jared snorted. "Shut up, dude, you love my giant ass," he said with a leer. It was a dangerous game, but Jared had never been able to stop himself from playing it with Jensen. Jensen, who remained as oblivious as ever to Jared's attraction to him, thank God. "You should call your agent and let her know I beat her to the punch on this one," he added, a smug smile masking his relief. He'd been afraid of losing Jensen now that Supernatural was over, but that wasn't going to happen—at least not yet.

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said, waving a hand flippantly. He sat down on the couch before reaching for the remote. "I'll call her in a bit. C’mon, Survivor's on tonight." He tossed a grin over the back of the couch at Jared, feeling ridiculously pleased that they wouldn't be going different ways just yet.

It took about a month to get everything in order, from finalizing their contracts to finding somewhere to live, but at last it all seemed to fall into place. The apartment they settled on was perfect, smaller than what they were used to but big enough to accommodate two fully-grown men and their huge dogs, and on the third floor. The lack of outside access wasn't a big deal—there was a balcony and the dogs were used to being unable to come and go thanks to Jared and Jensen hardly ever being home at sensible hours—but getting Harley and Sadie comfortable with using the elevator had been a challenge. Jensen had found it hilarious.

The network gave them a week after moving in before they had to start filming, but they didn't get to spend it enjoying their free time. Instead, they gave interviews, posed for photo shoots, showed up for costume fittings, argued with makeup artists and stylists about whether or not they should try to cover up Jensen's freckles or cut Jared's hair. When they were together, they ran lines and tried to get into character, giving each other tips in a way they hadn't felt comfortable enough to do at the very beginning of Supernatural, and these were the moments that Jared actually liked. Who cared that he'd had to pry the scissors from his stylist's hand and run away with them that morning, when he got to come home later that night and try out stupid accents with Jensen?

Thankfully, they got the weekend off, and they _slept_. With a call scheduled for five o'clock Monday morning, they were going to need it. Jared handed Jensen a beer on Sunday night and nudged Harley off of the sofa next to him so that he could sit down. Some crappy show with tinny, recorded laughter was on the TV, which was the only light source in the room. It felt oddly intimate; Jared liked it. "You ready for tomorrow?" he asked after he'd taken a mouthful of his own beer, eyeing Jensen through the gloom.

Jensen groaned, letting his head flop back against the back of the couch. "Beyond. I hate prep week." It was arguably the worst part about any new project, be it a movie or a television series. Everyone was trying to get used to each other, size each other up, and figure out how to play the characters without over- or under-doing it.

Jensen sat up a bit straighter, snatching the remote from Jared and ignoring Jared's squawk of indignation as he thumbed the volume up. It was one of those entertainment news things, and the announcer was talking about their new series, Crime and Punishment. "It has been announced that the much-anticipated new televisions series, Crime and Punishment, has become well-know actors', Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, new project. The two will be starring opposite each other rather than beside each other as they did in their previous show, Supernatural, which ended after five seasons."

Jensen snorted. "More times than not, Sam and Dean were on opposite sides," he observed dryly. "Still, good to know that it's not just the producers who are all hyped up about this."

Jared smiled and nodded. "You realize we're gonna be expected to follow each other around from project to project now?" he asked, amused. It wasn't something that had only just occurred to him, but he hadn't expected the media to make such a big deal of it. "I was online last night; the fangirls are already swarming. They think we've made this place into our, uhh, 'love nest'."

Jensen snickered. "They still haven't given up on that, huh?" he asked, chuckling before downing almost half of his beer. "And yeah, I realize that apparently everyone else in the known world thinks we're joined at the hip. But we haven't given them much reason to think otherwise." They watched TV for a while in relative silence until a story came on about a homeless man found dead in an alley, with his wrists slit, but the police were suspicious, unsure whether it was really suicide or a homicide.

"Whaddaya think, Jare?" Jensen asked, raising an eyebrow at Jared. "Think it's suicide or vamp?"

Jared laughed. "Vampire, definitely," he said with a decisive nod and a swig of his beer. "But it's not our problem anymore. Sam and Dean are retired." He hesitated, eyeing the TV screen with apparent unease. At last, he added, "Poor bastard. I don't know what would be worse, if it was suicide or murder. Can you imagine feeling like killing yourself was the only way out?"

Jensen sobered. "No, I can't," he replied, shaking his head. There'd been some bad times in his life, yeah, but nothing that would make him feel like he had no choice but to end it.

He gave himself a little shake, throwing off the somber mood. "Well, if it was a vamp, it's some kind we've never come across; they didn't say anything about the throat being ripped out." He tossed Jared a grin.

Jared responded to Jensen's words with a smile, warming quickly under the diversion. "It's a tactful vampire," he answered knowingly. "It doesn't want to be discovered, so it doesn't kill the normal way. Quite smart, really. If the thing slits people's wrists, no one will question the lack of blood in their bodies."

"True," Jensen conceded, getting into the game. "What if it slit the wrists because that's where it drinks from? Maybe it took too much, lost control. But obviously it doesn't want to be discovered, so it slit the wrists."

"So it's a good vampire now?" Jared asked with a smirk, twisting on the sofa to face Jensen. "Why else would it care about losing control? In our experience, most vampires just want to feed; they don't care if they kill. Unless it's one of Lenore's friends. Any cattle mutilations recently?"

Jensen laughed. "No, you dumbass. This is a city, full of actors and businessmen and politicians and other people who just can't go missing, but there's so many people here, such a..." Jensen hesitated, but something told him he was on the right track. "Such a variety of flavors that the vamp wouldn't want to leave. So he..." Jensen was almost blinded by his flash of insight. "One night stands. There's God-knows-how-many clubs and bars in this city. He picks his prey for one night stands, I'm willing to bet. But the homeless man..." Jensen frowned. That didn't jive with his theory. "Do you suppose vampires are affected by the moon?" It had been a new moon, last night, before the body was found, and Jensen had never heard of vampires being affected by the lunar cycle, but it would explain a deviation from his hypothetical pattern.

Jared stared at Jensen for a long moment, and then cracked up. "You're fucking insane," he laughed, eyes wet with mirth. "Dude, you're not Dean, but with an imagination like that you could've kept Supernatural going for at least another season. Vampires affected by the moon; only you could come up with that. What bullshit!"

Jensen eyed his beer. "I think that's enough for me," he admitted, grinning. "Even that's a bit too far-fetched, even for me or Dean." Jensen laughed along with Jared, and then shook his head ruefully. "I'm going to bed; you know I'm not a morning person." He ruffled Jared's hair as he got up and headed to the kitchen, dumping the rest of his beer before trashing the bottle. He studied the thin crescent moon out of the window for a second before laughing quietly at himself.

"Vampires, and werewolves, and witches, oh my."

***

They somehow managed to drag themselves out of bed the next morning, Jared at four thirty to have a run with the dogs before leaving and Jensen at ten past five, after Jared stole his covers and ordered him to get into the shower. They were quiet on the drive over to the studio, trying to adjust to being up so early, and once they arrived they were engulfed by crew members and supporting cast. Once they were in costume and sticky with makeup, there came a conversation with their first director and a brief run-through, and then a whistle was blowing. It was time to film. 

Jared's and Jensen's characters didn't interact in the pilot, so they didn't see each other until they broke for lunch. One plate piled high with chicken curry and another with sugary snacks, Jared made his way over to his co-star and beamed as he sat down next to him. It was a nice day; no need to hide out in their trailers just yet. "Hey S," he greeted, nudging Jensen's leg with his foot. "How's it going?"

Jensen rolled his eyes before eyeballing Jared's two plates of food. "Mother of God, what do they have you _doing_ , Tom?" he asked, feigning shock, like he wasn't already used to Jared's eating habits. Jensen took a bite of his own sandwich, chewing and swallowing before answering Jared's question. "And it's going pretty well. I don't have many lines, just sit there and look menacing. Oh, and beat the shit out an insubordinate jackass." That had been tough; Jensen had to do it with a completely blank face. It felt weird to be fighting like that after fighting so much as Dean, who was surprisingly expressive when he fought.

Jared shook his head in mock sympathy, ignoring the comment about the amount of food he was about to consume. "Insubordinate jackasses never learn, do they?" he clucked. "Menacing sounds fun though. A whole new look for you." The curry, when Jared sampled it, was unexpectedly mild—but it was still better than what they'd served on set at Supernatural. It occurred to him that he should probably stop trying to compare. While he chewed, he gestured with his fork toward the plate of desserts that was balancing precariously on the arm of his chair between him and Jensen. "Some of that's for you, by the way. Figured you could use the energy boost."

Jared's waving disturbed the plate, and Jensen barely managed to catch it. He raised an eyebrow at Jared. "Let's not have you wasting an entire plate of food at every break, shall we?" he said archly, but grinned at Jared regardless. "Thanks, man."

Jared had the good grace to blush. "Oops, sorry," he chuckled, chasing some rice around his plate. "Good save. S'why I roped you into this; you stop me from making an ass of myself." That wasn't the case at all, of course, but the words were still true. Jensen looked out for Jared just as much as Jared looked out for Jensen, and it was comforting to know that they still had that to fall back on while they were surrounded by all of these new people. Jared finished his curry and set his plate down on the ground, turning to Jensen expectantly. "Pass me a cake?"

Jensen handed over a cake, and resumed his own eating, a quiet contentment humming under his skin. Privately he was glad that his new project was still working with Jared; he couldn't imagine leaving the overgrown child alone, especially not after the disaster with Danneel, and how Jared had helped him through it.

After they were done eating, they went back to filming and didn't see each other until they headed home. As soon as they walked in, Jensen flopped face-first onto the couch, Harley and Sadie jumping on top of him as he groaned, his limbs starfishing. "Kill me now," he moaned.

Jared laughed, but managed to drag the dogs off Jensen before disappearing back out into the hall with them. He was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to collapse just as Jensen had, but he herded his babies into the elevator and took them outside to do their business like a good master should. When they got back upstairs, Harley and Sadie had calmed down considerably, and Jensen was fast asleep. It was adorable.  
Once he'd thrown a blanket over Jensen, Jared led the dogs through to the kitchen to get them some food and scrape together something for dinner. It turned out to be mac and cheese, but it was better than nothing. Jared left the kitchen door open in the hope that the smell would encourage Jensen to get up; he was always a little bitch when Jared disturbed him.

Jensen grumbled as he slowly worked his way back to consciousness. He forgot where he was and stretched, rolling, only to fall off of the couch and smack his head against the coffee table. "Son of a bitch!" he yelped, flailing to sit up, and knocking his elbow against the aforementioned coffee table. Swearing and muttering, he struggled to his feet, kicking the blanket off of his feet(almost faceplanting onto the coffee table; damn thing was out to get him, he _knew_ it) before stumbling into the kitchen, mumbling something about caffeine.

"No caffeine," Jared instructed, placing two bowls onto the kitchen table. "Just food. I need you to eat, not stay awake all night. Come on." He sat down and encouraged Jensen to do the same, an amused look on his face. "If you manage to eat just half of this, I'll let you have a story before bed."

"Not a damn child," Jensen grumbled, scowling at Jared but digging in anyway. "'S good," he admitted grudgingly, rubbing his sore elbow.

Jared's eyebrows disappeared up into his hairline, but he wasn't hurt by Jensen's grumpiness—it was kind of funny. "Did the living room launch an attack against you or something?" he asked innocently, trying not to laugh. "That'll teach you not to fall asleep in the open. Leaves you vulnerable to evil furniture."

Jensen flipped Jared off, ignoring him in favor of pasta-and-cheesy goodness. When he was finally done, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and drank it slowly. "Well, this is gonna be interesting," he said, leaning against the counter.

"What is?" Jared asked, picking up their bowls and putting them in the sink. He ran some water into it and rolled his sleeves up, looking around for a scourer. "Waging war against the house? Or battling vampires who are influenced by the lunar cycle?" 

Jensen chucked the dish towel at Jared's head. "It's a viable theory!" he protested, laughing. "And I was talking more about the show, and our characters probably being love interests for each other. Be pretty fun to watch the fangirls' reactions."

Jared cut his gaze to Jensen, but quickly averted his eyes, focusing instead upon the bowl he was scrubbing. "They've still not mentioned that. You'd really be okay with it?" he asked mildly, his tone verging on the wrong side of _too_ casual. "You hate that kind of attention from the fangirls; if our characters even start flirting, they're gonna take it as proof that _we're_ fucking. They'll eat us alive." Jared shuddered. "Besides," he added, his stomach churning nervously. "Wouldn't you find it weird? We'd probably have to make out."

Jensen snorted. "Dude, half the fandom already thinks we're fucking. And the other half thinks me, you, and Misha are in a polyamorous relationship," he pointed out, grabbing the dishcloth and drying the bowls Jared was scrubbing. "And honestly, it would just be acting. Not like it meant anything; we're both straight." Jensen thought he hid the slight catch in his voice pretty well; if his and Jared's characters ended up together, it wouldn't mean anything when they kissed, but that wouldn't stop Jensen from wishing it would.

Jared choked down the hysterical laughter that suddenly bubbled up his throat and managed to force out a weak, "Yeah." He wasn't straight at all, but Jensen didn't know that, and Jared couldn't exactly tell him now. Jensen wouldn't feel comfortable making out with Jared for the cameras if he knew Jared was into guys, and he'd be pissed that Jared had kept it from him for so long; Jared wasn't prepared to jeopardize their careers or their friendship.  
They finished washing up together in silence, and Jared flicked Jensen with the dish towel to dissipate some of the awkwardness he wasn't entirely sure he was imagining. "Go to bed; you're practically falling asleep where you're standing," he instructed with a smile. "I'll let the kids out again and lock up, and then I'll do the same. Early start again tomorrow."

Jensen heaved an exaggerated shudder. "Morning people in the film business are _monsters_ ," he proclaimed before shuffling down the hall, giving Harley and Sadie their goodnight cuddles, and promptly knocking his shoulder and arm into the doorjamb to his bedroom. "This fucking apartment hates me!" he shouted, glaring at the offending fixture before kicking it(and stubbing his toe; not his best decision) and proceeding to limp into his bedroom.

Jared was laughing once more as he led the dogs to the elevator, and a fond smile was still on his lips by the time he returned to the apartment. He had a reputation for being a giant spaz, but Jensen was even more uncoordinated than him sometimes. No one ever got to see it, though—only Jared. It was one of the things Jared loved about him.  
With the dogs settled in for the night, Jared locked up the apartment and went to bed, absolutely not wishing he had Jensen there to keep him warm as he fell asleep.

Over the next few weeks, filming moved along at a brisk pace. The plot was moving along, and Tom had caught a glimpse of S hanging out off to the side of a recent murder, a pleased smirk on his face, and now Tom was trying to figure out who the handsome man that sent shivers—of two different kinds—up his spine was. S, for his part, was trying to find out just who the new homicide detective was.

After a particularly grueling day of filming, with Jared harassing Jensen at every break, Jensen was running tense and on edge. Once final cut for the day was called, Jensen didn't bother saying goodbye to Jared, just sent him a text that said _See you at home,_ and got a cab, heading for one of the flashier clubs in town, a place called The Bleeding Heart.

James toyed with his glass of Scotch, bored. This wasn't the kind of place he usually frequented, but he'd needed a change of scenery and the name had made him laugh. There was no one here that he liked the look of, though, and James turned in his seat at the bar, intending to leave—but then he saw him. Tall, dark and handsome at twelve o'clock. The guy who had just walked into the club was beautiful enough to make James' mouth water, and he flashed the man his most inviting grin, inclining his head slightly to indicate the vacant seat beside him. The evening had just become very interesting. 

As soon as Jensen walked into the club, he could feel some of the tension in his body relax. He caught the eyes of a blond-haired man sitting at the bar, and when the man tilted his head invitingly, Jensen felt one corner of his mouth quirk up into a small, arrogant smile. He walked over to the bar, ordered a glass of scotch to match the other man's, and once he had his drink, raised it toward him in a polite gesture. "I'm Jensen. Mind me asking what your name is?" he said, smiling as he took a sip. There was something... almost hypnotic about the other man. Maybe it was something about his eyes; they seemed to flash between gold and red, depending on the lighting. Whatever it was, Jensen was in a mood to get lucky, and he hoped it'd be with this guy.

James' eyes glittered as he introduced himself, giving Jensen his real name because, well, the guy wouldn't be alive long enough to give it to anyone else. "So tell me," he continued, leaning deliberately toward Jensen; "what is a _gorgeous_ guy like you doing in a place like this?"

Jensen raised an eyebrow, shifting so he was sitting more towards James. "Probably the same thing an equally gorgeous guy like you: Hoping to find someone to make the night a little less lonely." He tossed a careless grin at James before downing his drink, licking his lips invitingly, unconsciously tilting his head and baring his neck. There was a nice little buzz going on in the back of his head, but that was odd, since Jensen had only had the one drink. _Meh,_  he decided.  _Doesn't matter._  What mattered was he felt good, had the attention of a stunning guy, and things were looking like they were going to go his way.

James drained his glass and then smirked at Jensen, sliding a hand up his thigh. "Then why are we still sat around chatting?" he asked, holding Jensen's gaze but jerking his head toward the door. "Let's get out of here."

The buzzing intensified, and Jensen sat his glass down, passing over some money to the bartender and telling her to "keep the change" as he followed James out of the door. The Bleeding Heart was situated at the top floor of a twenty-story building, and as soon as they were in the elevator, Jensen jumped James, pushing him up against the wall and kissing him, running his hands down James’s sides, a thrill running through him at the feeling of tense muscles bunched under his hands. Jensen pulled back to nip at James's jaw as he growled, "Can't wait to see what those muscles actually look like."

James had to admit that he was a little surprised—Jensen didn't seem like the one-night-stand type, much less the throw-someone-up-against-a-wall-and-hump-them type—but he wasn't above using it to his advantage. The area around the club when they got out of this elevator would be far from deserted, and Jensen was unlikely to be willing to let James drag him down an alley for a semi-public 'quickie', not unless James was extra... _persuasive_. He returned Jensen's kisses, arching into his touch like he was supposed to, like he was hungry for Jensen's body instead of his blood. When Jensen drew back to nibble at his jaw, James took the opportunity to bury his face in his neck, and bit down. The skin under his teeth broke, and Jensen's warm blood flooded into James' mouth, making him moan. He tasted fucking amazing, and pretty soon Jensen wouldn't even be able to feel the pain as James fed on him.

Jensen jerked in James's arms as he felt the other man's teeth break the skin of Jensen's neck, and he subconsciously mirrored the movement, his teeth latching onto the junction of shoulder and neck as he worried a bruise there. A pleasant tingly sensation was radiating through his body as—was James sucking his blood? Jensen thought he should be freaking out about that, but he really just didn't want James to stop, wanted more and more of that feeling that could quickly become more addicting than any drug.

James felt the moment when Jensen relaxed in his arms, and pulled himself away from the blood blooming at his neck. He couldn't drink too deeply from Jensen yet, not if he wanted him to be able to walk when they reached the ground floor. Still, he couldn't quite resist lapping at the hollow of Jensen's throat, where the blood was collecting, murmuring about how hot he was all the while. It was the right thing to do. Despite everything, Jensen was hard against his hip; there was an aphrodisiac in a vampire's saliva that made the feeding process pleasurable beyond belief for the victim. A handy adaptation that prevented people from trying to get away.  
When the _ding_ of the elevator told James that they had reached their floor, he sealed his mouth over Jensen's neck again, sipping at the wound just enough to make him moan. By the time the doors opened to allow them out and a group of what looked like college students in, they appeared for all the world like two guys who just hadn't been able to wait until they reached a hotel room. The scene he and the beautiful Jensen created together was enough to make the students avert their gaze either out of embarrassment or common decency, and as James pulled his meal out of the elevator, no one noticed the blood.

"Come on," he purred in Jensen's ear, carefully steering him down the side of the building. "Screw getting back to my place. Want you right now. Do you want me?"

Jensen was seeing everything through a blurry haze of lust, and he barely managed to nod as he let James lead him down the alley. This time it was Jensen being pushed up against the wall, and he instinctively nipped and nibbled at the spot he'd been previously focusing on. Jensen let out a whimper of pleasure that he should've been embarrassed about when James resumed his ministrations on Jensen's neck.

The noises coming from Jensen were perfect, and they were driving James wild. It would be such a shame to kill this one, he thought vaguely as he drank deeply from Jensen's throat, but he'd already started; he couldn't just leave the guy wandering the streets with a gaping hole in his neck, especially not when he tasted so good.  
Unless...

It was possible. James hadn't done it since 1973, but it was possible. He wouldn't even have to take Jensen on as a companion as he had with the others—there was enough speculation about vampires these days that Jensen would be able to work it out for himself. And Jensen would make an _excellent_ vampire. His beauty was already otherworldly; the allure that vampires possessed to ensnare their victims would come more naturally to him than most.

Decision made, James forced himself away from the blood now flowing readily from Jensen's neck, sinking his teeth instead into his own wrist. "Here," he breathed, pressing his open wound to Jensen's lips. "Drink this, baby."

By this point, Jensen would do anything that voice asked him to, if it meant he could get off. He lapped at James's wrist, and rolled the odd taste of the man's blood around in his mouth. It didn't taste anything like his blood did, when he bit his lip or tongue. It tasted... sweeter. Almost like fruit. Jensen drank eagerly, a pleasant swirling sensation spiraling out from his stomach as he did so.

Oh yes, Jensen would make a great vampire. He was feeding from James almost greedily, drinking down his blood as though it tasted wonderful—which, James happened to know, it did. The vampire let Jensen do what he had to do, keeping a close eye on the wound in his neck as it began to close over. Vampire blood had amazing healing properties, but at a cost, as Jensen would soon realize.  
When there was no trace of so much as a hickey remaining, James wrenched his arm away from Jensen's mouth. He was feeling a little lightheaded, which was saying something; he was dead. "Go home," he murmured to Jensen, giving him an encouraging nudge toward the street. "Sleep it off. I'll see you in a few days." With Jensen peering uncertainly in the direction indicated, James melted into the darkness, leaving him alone.

Jensen shook his head, blinking furiously. What the hell had just—He frowned, trying to remember. He walked into the club, and... And James.

Holy shit.

Jensen's hands flew to his neck and his mouth, his stomach threatening to revolt. James had—And Jensen—

He braced himself against the side of the building and heaved, but nothing would come out; he was trying to expel the blood—oh God, he'd drank James's blood, and James had drank his—but it was coating his stomach and throat, and refused to move.

When he finally managed to regain control, he stumbled back to the street, hailing a cab and giving the driver the address for his apartment. As he walked in the door, he scowled, realizing that he hadn't even gotten off as compensation for whatever it was James had done to him. He slammed the door shut and stalked to the bathroom, throwing the lock and almost ripping his clothes off before stepping into the shower and turning the spray on as hot as he could stand it.

All the banging woke Jared up, and his first thought was, _I'm being robbed!_ —but Harley and Sadie, who were sleeping at the foot of his bed, simply raised their heads, blinked at him, and went back to sleep. Not an intruder, then; Jensen was home. Jared's instincts told him to roll over and ignore him, but clearly something was amiss. Jensen never made this much noise when he came home, too worried about disturbing someone. Maybe Jared had been a little confused and upset when Jensen had bailed earlier, but that didn't mean he was going to ignore whatever was wrong with his friend.

Climbing out of bed, he shushed the dogs back to sleep once again and slipped through the door, stumbling along the hall until he reached the bathroom. The soft hiss of the shower told him exactly where Jensen was, as if the slamming of the doors hadn't already. Jared knocked. "Jen?" he called, knowing he would be heard even over the water. "You okay, man?"

Jensen jumped when he heard Jared's voice. "Shit," he swore under his breath. Of course it would've been late enough that Jared would've been asleep. "Yeah," he called, quickly finishing and stepping out. He toweled off most of the water, then wrapped the towel around his waist and snagged his clothes before unlocking the door and stepping out. "Just frustrated 'cause I struck out at the club."

Jared just blinked at Jensen for a long moment, and then did the only thing it was appropriate to do in these situations: he laughed in Jensen's face. "Seriously? Aw, man, you suck!" he crowed gleefully, clapping Jensen on the shoulder. "Guess it's just you and your hand tonight, buddy. Welcome to the club." He grinned at Jensen and backed away, ignoring the fact that he was genuinely pleased that Jensen hadn't gone to bed with some stranger tonight. "I'm going back to sleep, dude. Try not to take out your frustration on my ears, okay?"

"You could be a little more sympathetic," Jensen grumbled, but he couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. "And I'll make as much noise as I want to, thank you very much," he said, affecting an air of extreme dignity as he walked past Jared, bumping his shoulder on the way.

Once Jensen was in his room, however, he had to collapse on the bed due to a sudden wave of dizziness. Blinking, his shook his head slowly, swallowing with a dry click. He quickly threw on a clean pair of briefs before climbing into his bed, under the covers, and promptly falling asleep.

Jensen wasn't awake when Jared got back from his morning run the next day, but that was nothing new. He banged on Jensen's door as he walked past on his way to the bathroom, yelling that there was coffee in the kitchen and that he had ten minutes until the shower was free. He disappeared into his own room once he was washed and dressed to fiddle with his alarm clock, which may or may not have been thrown at the far wall when it went off a few hours ago, and didn't emerge until he got the text to say that the car was outside. 

The apartment was silent; Jensen was still nowhere to be seen. Confused, Jared went over to his door and knocked. No answer. Confusion quickly giving way to concern, Jared opened the door. "Jensen? Come on, man, our ride's here. Are you ready?" Jensen didn't even appear to be awake; he was buried beneath the covers, a tuft of light brown hair the only part of him that was visible. Jared threw his phone at him. "Jensen!"

Jensen shot upright in bed when something small but very hard impacted with the side of his head. He flailed for a second, disoriented, before remembering that, oh yeah, he was supposed to be up for work. He yelped and managed to disentangle himself from the sheets and raced around the room, yanking on clothes and shoes and then barreled past Jared, swearing as he saw that they were gonna be late.

"Dude, calm down, it's okay," Jared chuckled, watching Jensen rocket around the room. He fished his phone out of the blankets and sent a text to their diver, asking him to give them ten minutes. "You partied pretty hard last night, huh?" he asked when Jensen emerged from the bathroom, eyeing him curiously. "You didn't seem that wasted when you got home."

Jensen paused, vaguely remembering that... something... had happened last night, but it was all kind of muddled. He shrugged before grabbing a thermos from the cupboard and filling it with coffee. "C'mon, let's go. They're filming that kidnapping scene today." This scene was where Tom and S first meet face-to-face, after S kidnaps Tom to threaten him off of the case of a murdered man that S killed to make a point.

Jared was laughing as he followed Jensen out of the apartment. "Oh yeah, you get to tie me up today. How fun for you."  
It didn't turn out to be very fun. Jensen was acting like a freak, and they had to do several takes of each scene. When the director yelled 'cut' for the fifth time, after Jensen had been too busy staring off into space to say his line, they were both told to take a walk. "Kick his ass into gear," was Jared's exact instruction, and he wandered off to find Jensen, who had disappeared before the director had even finished speaking.   
Jensen was found in his trailer; Jared walked in without knocking. "Dude, what is with you today?" he asked, not unkindly. "Are you sick? 'Cause if you are, you need to say something. I think you're about to get kicked off the set."

Jensen was rubbing at the side of his neck, frowning. It stung, and itched. Like a mosquito bite. "I... don't know. I've been feeling off all day." His frown deepened as he got a sense memory of—Wait a second. Jensen whirled, stalking over to the mirror and yanking his collar down. There was something there, barely noticeable on his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember what had happened last night with James.

Jared drew up behind Jensen, trying to see whatever he was looking at, but there was nothing. An old bruise, perhaps. "Jen, maybe you should just go home," he suggested, his concern evident in his voice. "There's some coverage of Tom that we didn't get to do last week; we can pick this up tomorrow."

Jensen made an uncertain noise in the back of his throat, releasing his shirt, and turning around, almost running face-first into Jared's chest. "Dude, personal space," he said mildly, moving around Jared to go grab a water bottle out of the cooler. "And no, I'll work through it. I'm fine, just felt a little weird." That was understatement; it seemed like his senses were fluctuating. One moment he could see every facet of a fly's eye from a hundred yards, the next he could barely see his own hands. And his sense of smell was even worse; it was actually making him nauseous.

Jared was far from convinced, but short of picking Jensen up and carrying him off the set, there wasn't a whole lot he could do. "Alright man, but pull yourself together, okay?" he said softly, nudging Jensen's shoulder with his own and offering him a smile. "You're making me look bad."

Jensen snorted. "Bitch, that's impossible. _You_ make _me_ look bad," he teased, walking out of the trailer and back to set. He somehow managed to make it through the rest of the day, getting some decent takes, and he felt relieved when he slid into the car to go home. All he wanted was to go home and collapse on the couch.

The next few days went better—on set, at least. Jensen managed to get through all of his scenes without checking out or messing up his lines, but when he was at home, it was a whole other story. Jared couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Jensen was being _weird_. Or rather, something about Jensen was weird. Jared didn't think it was conscious on Jensen's part. After all, it was impossible for Jensen to have willed that chunk he took out of his leg on the corner of the coffee table to heal overnight. There had been blood everywhere and the cut had made Jared feel vaguely nauseous when he looked at it, but the next day there was nothing left of it but a tiny scratch.

It wasn't just miraculous healing powers, either. Jensen could _hear_ things. Jared had been on the phone to his mom, and she'd broken from the conversation to ask his sister just what she thought she was wearing; after he'd hung up, Jensen had come in from the other room and laughed that Jared's mom still treated Megan like she was sixteen. The thing was, Jared hadn't mentioned his mom's comment—so how had Jensen even known that Megan was there? 

Jared hadn't mentioned it, though. He couldn't. What would he say? 'Hey man, I noticed you've been developing superpowers lately. What gives?' Deep down, Jared knew he was being crazy, and if he wasn't, then there was definitely a rational explanation for whatever he was observing—and he was going to work it out for himself. 

They'd been released early from set that day, and as Jensen had offered to take the dogs for their evening walk, Jared was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. Jensen wasn't allowed in the kitchen, ever; he did himself too much damage. Jared poured a mixture of chicken stock and tomato puree over the chicken that he had fried up earlier, and was just stirring in some courgettes and tomatoes when he heard the front door open. "Keep the dogs out of here!" he called over his shoulder. His babies never could resist the smell of chicken. "This'll be about ten minutes, okay?"

Jensen snagged Harley's collar as the dog tried to bolt for the kitchen, growling softly at Harley, who immediately quieted. "Sure, Jare." Jensen got a whiff of garlic as he headed for his bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes, and he wrinkled his nose. "Ease up on the garlic there, bud; what're you tryin’ to do, kill Dracula?"

Jared hesitated in his stirring, bemused. "I didn't use garlic," he protested. "The recipe asks for it but you know I don't like it." He let the food bubble for a few minutes and then dished up, calling Jensen to the table as he set two plates down. "Does it still smell weird?" he asked curiously when Jensen entered the room.

Jensen coughed, the smell of garlic almost knocking him back on his ass. "Jesus, Jared, thought you said you didn't use garlic!" He burst out, glaring at Jared accusingly as he tried to breathe mostly through his mouth. It didn't help, because now the taste of garlic—along with everything else in the dish—was coating the back of his throat.

Jared stared, his eyes wide, and set his fork down. "Dude, I swear, there isn't any garlic in this. I can't smell it or taste it, because I _didn't_ use it," he insisted. Jensen really didn't look like he believed him, and irritation flared in Jared's gut. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. You can cook for yourself."

Jensen shook his head, moving to sit down at the table. "I swear I smell garlic," he muttered under his breath, and his first bite confirmed it: Jared was lying. Come to think of it, Jensen could hear Jared's heartbeat picking up. He didn't give Jared any clues that he knew Jared was lying, though; Jensen couldn't figure out a reason Jared would do it, but he had to have one.

Jared spent another few moments watching Jensen, trying to understand why he was acting like this. He truly hadn't used garlic, and didn't know why Jensen was insisting he had. The only decipherable emotion on Jensen's face was annoyance, however, so Jared gave up and went about enjoying his meal. They didn't speak again while they ate.

It was only later, when Jared was cleaning up the kitchen, that the truth became apparent. He picked up the bottle of season-all—a mild mixture of herbs and spices that Jared had used a thousand times before—that he had sprinkled over the chicken before frying it and, following some strange impulse, checked the list of ingredients. Sure enough, amidst a number of other things that Jared would never dare to use on their own, was the word 'garlic'. Jared blinked. According to this, Jensen had been right.  
What the hell?

***

A few days later, Jensen managed to get another night off, and he headed back to The Bleeding Heart, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Jared was openly giving him suspicious looks, and he wanted to, at the least, figure out some sort of lie to feed his best friend. The thought of lying to Jared almost turned his stomach, but Jensen didn't think that Jared would take the truth—whatever it was—well.

As soon as the bouncer let him into the club, Jensen reeled backwards from the multitude of delicious scents that assailed his nose, along with the wet sound of beating hearts. Jensen's throat felt like it was on fire, and he forced himself to take deep breaths through his mouth. Then a scent hit him, different from the rest. It was sweeter, and hauntingly familiar. He followed it to the bar, a soft growl rumbling in his chest as he recognized James.

James had sensed Jensen as soon as he walked into the club, and he gave the new vampire a smirk as he approached. "Retract your fangs and sit down," he instructed when he heard the growl, indicating the seat beside him. A pointed gesture had the bartender sliding a glass of scotch toward Jensen, and James waited for him to take a drink before speaking again. "It took you long enough to come and find me," he observed archly. "I expect you have some questions."

Jensen forced himself to stay calm. "First off, I want to know what the hell you did to me that night," he snarled.

James blinked, and said matter-of-factly, "I turned you into a vampire." He gestured for another drink without breaking Jensen's eye contact, and waited.

Jensen's first impulse was to scoff at the other man, but he stopped as the sound of heartbeats not his own pulsed in his ears. He shook his head, trying to clear it, and took another drink of whiskey. "So, the healing, the senses?"

"The fact that right now you are almost consumed by a thirst no amount of water can slake; a hunger no number of cheeseburgers can satisfy," James continued, nodding. "You'll need blood, and soon. From the vein, preferably."

"From the vein," Jensen repeated slowly, glancing around the club, which was packed with warm, deliciously inviting bodies. "So, from a human." He was quiet for a moment, idly swirling the ice in his glass, and then he nodded. "No way to cure this? Besides death, obviously."

James quirked an eyebrow. "What do you think?" he asked. "And death isn't as easy to bring about as you might think. Nor is it worth it. You've been granted immortality, Jensen. Don't throw it away."

The thought of immortality—of seeing his friends grow old and die while he stayed like this—was almost enough to turn Jensen's stomach. He forced it down, however, and made himself take a deep breath. "Any vampire etiquette I should know about?"

James graced Jensen with an amused smile. "Don't get caught," he supplied easily, taking a sip of his drink. "Don't tell anyone what you are. Don't turn people left, right and centre. And _enjoy it_. You're part of a superior race now."

Jensen frowned a bit at James's last comment, but he didn't say anything, instead turning to survey the crowd of writhing bodies on the dance floor. As he watched the humans—his food, now, Christ; Jensen just _knew_ he was gonna have a breakdown sometime soon—Jensen thought back to what James had done the other night, and he slotted a glance in James's direction. "How did you do that?" he asked abruptly. "Before you even got your hands on me, it was like I was drugged."

"It's all in the eyes," James answered, knowing that his own were glinting dangerously. "And the scent. I guess you can think of it as a type of pheromone. We're subtle predators; our bodies have adapted to make our prey feel comfortable with us, to encourage them to allow and even enjoy what we need to do to them. I'm assuming that you can remember just how much you liked our last encounter?"

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Still pissed at you for leaving me high and dry, and reserving judgment about the rest of you," he said dryly. "So, what, basically think 'Want me to suck your blood' at your... prey?"

James laughed. "We don't deal in mind control, Jensen. Just... manipulation. Once you take an interest in your prey, your body will do the rest. You have to understand that feeding for us is often interpreted as sexual; we need them to survive, and that need is reflected back to us. They provide us with sustenance, we provide them with unbelievable pleasure. Before that transaction even takes place, your prey is aware that you can benefit them in some way, and despite not knowing how, they _crave_ it." James' expression had turned feral, hungry as he leaned toward Jensen to emphasize his words, but suddenly he leaned back, affecting an indifferent air. "You'll understand it better when you try it out for yourself. Pick someone; a body whose blood sings to you."

"Sings to me?" Jensen scoffed, rolling his eyes. "The hell are you, some sort of vamp guru?" He turned back to the crowd, ignoring James for the time being, and let his sense and instincts range out, searching for someone to feed from.

There.

There was a tall man, broad shoulders, and rumbled brown hair, like he'd just stumbled back from giving someone a blowjob in the bathrooms. Jensen deposited his glass on the bar top and began making his way over to the man, mostly letting instinct guide him.

It was almost laughably easy to persuade the guy to come with him to the bathroom and into a stall, where Jensen jacked him off while delicately drinking from the guy's neck, instinctively lapping over the wound when he was done, helping the small cuts from his teeth to heal faster.

Afterwards, he quickly smoothed down his clothes and made his way back to the bar, already feeling more alive, more powerful, and stronger than he'd felt in years.

"You didn't kill him," was the first thing James said when Jensen returned, mild surprise mingled with pride evident in his tone. "You're a natural. I'm impressed. But don't get cocky, and don't think it'll always be that easy; the longer you go without feeding, the more urgent the bloodlust gets. Leaving a trail of bodies in your wake is how you get caught."

Jensen eyed James suspiciously for a second. "Like that homeless man you killed?" he asked, his voice pitched low enough that only James would be able to hear it. "How did you lose control? You seem like a vamp who wouldn't, not easily."

James wrinkled his nose. "He wasn't to my usual tastes, I'll admit," he conceded, not willing to praise Jensen for putting two and two together with regards to that particular slip up. "No one had caught my attention the night before, so I was hungry, and the guy was bleeding. It's always harder for vampires to keep themselves in check during the new moon—don't ask me why—and I lost it. It's not unheard of, but it's a good idea to keep yourself well-fed in the lead up to the new moon."

Jensen hit his fist against his thigh. "I knew it had to do with the new moon!" He almost crowed. "Told Jared it was out of pattern." He frowned though, thinking about something else. "How many vamps are there in town? Besides me and you, obviously."

"I have no idea. We don't exactly keep tabs on each other," James answered, dismissing Jensen's question quickly so that he could get in one of his own. "Who's Jared?" The way Jensen said his name, with a kind of reverence, was maybe cause for concern. Vampires shouldn't get attached to humans for obvious reasons, and if the way Jensen hadn't even put up a token protest the night James had turned him was anything to go by, the two weren't lovers. If Jensen turned this Jared, there would be unpleasant consequences.

Jensen straightened, an instinctive, unhappy rumble making its way through his chest and up his throat. He didn't like the idea of James being interested in Jared; Jared was _his._ "He's my roommate and best friend," he said as quietly as he could with the undercurrent of anger and possessiveness riding beneath his skin.

James quirked an eyebrow. "Untwist your panties; I'm not going anywhere near him," he drawled. Honestly, Jensen's reaction had told him everything he needed to know. "You're in love with him. _Don't_ turn him into one of us."

Jensen froze completely. Even his breathing stopped. In love with Jared? Impossible. Jared was... well, was Jared. Jensen's best friend. Jensen snarled at James. "And why shouldn't I?" he demanded quietly but firmly.

"Because you're in love with him," James replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If he returned your feelings, you wouldn't have told me he was just your best friend. Turning someone into a vampire is very delicate. When I took you out of this club last time, I fully intended to kill you; when I turned you, it was because I didn't think the world should be deprived of that face. Nice and simple. But when there are strong, unrequited feelings involved on the vampire's part, a bond develops. Do you want Jared to become completely dependent upon you because you forced your own emotions onto him? He'd love you, but not in the same way that you love him. You would have total control over him—and you don't strike me as the kind of guy who'd get off on that."

Jensen stared at James, his mouth gaping open. Then he forced it shut and swallowed down the rage rolling in his gut. "I didn't choose this," he said, his voice dangerously low. "So let's get one thing straight: I will never— _never_ —turn anyone. Not even if it will save their life. I didn't choose to be turned, and I will never force this on anyone."

James shrugged, smiling tightly. "That's your decision," he agreed, but his tone was a little frosty. "Fresh, warm blood can sometimes affect a vampire like alcohol, make them a little bit too bold for their own good. Why don't you go home to your human before you forget who you're talking to? Try not to eat him."

Jensen got to his feet, then leaned in close to James, his mouth right by James's ear. "Come near me or mine, or get out of control again, and I'll put you down," he said softly, channeling every bit of Dean Winchester he knew before walking out of the club.

Jensen decided to walk back to the apartment, his mind busy trying to sort through everything that had happened. He was a vampire now. A blood-sucking monster. It should feel more... earth-shattering. He made an interested noise as he idly decided to see if all that "lore" he'd had to memorize for Supernatural was true.

When he got into the apartment, the first thing that hit him was the smell: Jared. It was instantly recognizable, and Jensen had to swallow to keep from drooling, focusing on remembering the smell and taste of the garlic the other night to distract himself.

Jared woke up late the next day, but not as late as he would have liked. It may be a Saturday, and his day off, but he'd gotten used to the early mornings and couldn't sleep in later than six. Jensen, on the other hand, was better at it; he wouldn't surface until at least eight, maybe even nine if he'd gone to bed late. Jared hadn't heard him come home last night.   
He got up and lounged around the apartment, distracting his babies with breakfast and squeaky toys when they protested being denied their morning run. Usually Jared kept his routine up over the weekend, but he had plans today; he owed Jensen an apology. Still, the dogs grew impatient after a while, and Jared was right there with them, so after he'd showered and shaved, he knocked on Jensen's door. "Get your ass up!" he hollered through the wood. "We're going to the park. You have twenty minutes!"

Jensen woke up from the light doze he'd been indulging in; since he was turned, he hadn't needed anywhere near as much sleep as he used to. "I'll be out in a sec!" he called, sitting up and stretching. He quickly showered and got dressed before heading out to pour himself some coffee. It tasted odd, after Jensen's first taste of blood—and Jesus, that was still weird to think about—but Jensen just shuffled over to the sugar bowl with the intention of putting some sugar into his coffee.

As soon as he picked up the spoon, however, he hissed in shock and dropped it, staring at the pads of his fingers where blisters had formed. Well, guess that answered that question. Silver definitely worked on vampires.

Jared meandered into the kitchen and grinned when he saw Jensen, his hair all sleep-ruffled and his cheek still creased from where it had been pressed into the pillow. He looked so adorable, and Jared kind of wanted to kiss him, but that thought was quickly stamped into submission. "Morning gorgeous," he chirped instead, keeping his tone flippant, and moved over to lean against the counter beside Jensen. "Listen, about last night. It turns out there was garlic in the food, a tiny bit in the mixed seasoning I always use—I don't know how you could smell it, but it was there, so I'm sorry. Maybe you're pregnant."

Jensen quickly hid his fingers from Jared—the silver burns were taking longer to heal—and he grinned. "Don't think that's possible, considering I haven't gotten laid in forever," he chuckled, busying himself with the mug of coffee. It didn't really help to drown out the enticing smell of Jared's blood, or the delicious pulse of his heartbeat.

Jensen swallowed, moving to the table to cock one hip against it. "So, what're we doing today?" he asked casually. "No filming, thank god."

Jared smiled, thinking nothing of Jensen moving away, putting space between them. "Well, as already mentioned, I thought we could take the dogs to the park, and then, I don't know. Maybe just hang out, play video games? I'll cook steak for dinner to make up for the garlic fiasco."

Jensen grinned and nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he said, downing the rest of his coffee before rinsing the mug out in the sink and heading back to his room to snag a pair of socks and his shoes, hoping the fresh air would dilute Jared's scent enough that Jensen wouldn't constantly have to fight back the urge to jump him. _Definitely going to another club tonight,_ he decided. The clubs were usually open till 2-3AM, so he'd be able to sneak out after Jared went to sleep. He'd have to go to another one besides The Bleeding Heart.

It was a glorious day when they got outside, and Jared slid a pair of sunglasses onto his face with a grin for Jensen. They were huge, and Jensen thought they made him look like a dork, but Jared didn't care. Harley and Sadie practically dragged them to the park, and when they were finally let off the leash to run, they shot off like rockets. Jared pointed to a free bench and he and Jensen made their way over to it.  
"You okay?" Jared asked innocently as they sat down. Jensen's freckles usually came out beautifully during the summer in stark contrast to his pale skin, but he seemed even paler than usual today, and he was squinting like the glare of the sun was causing him discomfort. "You want my glasses?"

The sun was making his skin itch and his eyes water a bit, but Jensen shook his head. "No, not yet," he replied, watching the dogs run. He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose. He could smell Jared, and something else mixed in with Jared's scent that brought the word _concern_ to Jensen's mind. The fresh air, carrying with it a cacophony of various scents with it, helped to distract Jensen from the smell of Jared right next to him. If Jared's scent was going to be this attractive, then Jensen was going to have to gorge himself tonight.

Jared shrugged and followed Jensen's gaze toward the dogs, content to watch his babies run for a while.  
"Um, excuse me?" came a timid voice just to his left. Jared looked up and saw a young girl of around nineteen peering at them uncertainly. "Aren't you those guys from that show? Umm, Paranormal?"

"Supernatural, actually," Jared supplied, but nodded all the same. She seemed sweet, in an irritating, 'you're the reason blondes have a bad name' sort of way.

The girl flushed bright red. "Oh, of course. Sorry. I never watched the show, but I saw it advertised all the time and I always thought you guys were super hot."

He was used to this sort of stuff, but Jared's irritation cranked up another notch all the same. "Well it was nice to meet you," he told her kindly, and turned his gaze back to Harley, who was peeing against a tree while Sadie looked on, evidently disgusted: the conversation was over. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl blush an even deeper shade of red and then scurry away. He nudged Jensen. "Why is it that we either get crazy fangirls who know the dates we were conceived and would probably rape us given half the chance, or people who have no idea who we are but think it's appropriate to drool on us anyway?" he asked, amused.

Jensen shrugged, watching the girl walk away, his instincts kicking into high gear, telling him that she was one of those who would make excellent feeders, who would replenish their blood more quickly, and their blood would keep him sated for longer. He waited till she was out of sight and then made some excuse about going to the rest room, following his nose to the girl, and managed to get her alone, drinking his fill. He had whispered in her ear that she wouldn't remember this, that all that happened was she had low blood sugar and passed out in the bathroom, feeling a current hum under his skin as he did so. He hoped it meant that she'd follow his instructions.

He made sure to erase any evidence of what he'd been doing before returning to the bench. Having gone inside the little building to feed, he didn't feel the sun burning into his skin anymore. He settled next to Jared, turning his gaze back to the dogs, smiling as he watched them tussle on the grass.

Jared watched Jensen curiously out of the corner of his eye—since when did clean-freak Jensen Ackles use public toilets?—but he didn't comment. Instead, he allowed them to watch the dogs in companionable silence for another half hour. Jensen seemed to have relaxed a lot more, at least, and that helped Jared to relax, too. He had no idea what was going on with his friend, but Jensen appeared to have whatever it was under control.

On the walk back they chattered about the usual bullshit, laughing easily at each other as the dogs pulled them along. "You wanna find a movie or a video game?" Jared asked when they got inside, pushing his hair back off his face. "I'll give the kids some water and find us a couple of cold ones. It's too fucking hot out there."

Jensen grinned. "Sure," he said easily. His drink had made it a lot easier to bear Jared's scent, and Jensen felt loose, relaxed, and more powerful than ever. He scanned the video games, finally pulling out Halo and popping it in, exchanging the second controller for one of the beers Jared was carrying when he came back into the living room, Harley and Sadie plopping down on the floor in front of the couch. "You ready?"

Jared took the controller from Jensen, glancing down to catch a glimpse of the exact moment their fingers touched. Perhaps that made him a freak, but it paid off. "Dude, what did you do to your hand?" he asked, grasping Jensen's wrist to hold it in place while he examined the blisters he'd caught sight of. They looked like the result of a really nasty burn.

Jensen shrugged, tugging his hand back out of Jared's. "Grabbed the mug the wrong way," he said, curling his fingers around the controller, willing the skin to heal, but something about the silver was keeping it from healing. He made a mental note that if he was gonna be experimenting, he needed to make sure not to do it around Jared. He could just do his Jedi/vampire mind trick, but the thought of influencing Jared like that, or in any way, made him extremely uncomfortable.

Jared shook his head. "You fucking dumbass," he laughed, turning his attention to the video game. "Why is it that people think _I'm_ the spastic? Honestly man, it's a wonder you still have all your limbs."

Jensen just chuckled and grinned. "I'm just better at hiding it when we're in public; you're the only one I trust to be spastic around," he said, bumping Jared's shoulder with his own a little harder than he meant to.

Jared wasn't prepared for the nudge to actually hurt, but he recovered quickly, the smile on his face aided by the fact that Jensen had just admitting to trusting him more than most people. It was no declaration of undying love, but it reassured Jared that Jensen would be keeping him around, at least for a while. "Good to know I'm so special to you," he quipped, mostly to hide how pleased he was. "I'd return the sentiment, but I think we both know that I don't trust you as far as I can throw you."

Jensen gave Jared his best set of puppy eyes, which were nothing compared to Jared's. "Jared, you wound me," he whined, dumping the controller and reaching out to wrap his arms around Jared, sobbing theatrically. "I thought I was your favorite person in the world!"

Jared laughed and patted Jensen's arm. "You are my favorite person," he said sincerely, managing to keep his tone teasing. "But you're an asshole. Maybe if you didn't abuse me so much I wouldn't have these trust issues."

Jensen huffed out a breath, pulling back and pouting at Jared. "When have I ever abused you?" he whined, not shifting from where their hips and upper legs were pressed together, enjoying the contact.

Jared wasn't in any hurry to move away either; the heat radiating from Jensen's body was pleasant and inviting. "Oh, I don't know," he scoffed. "How about all those times you dumped water on me on set during Supernatural? Or the fact that you woke me up the other week, coming home from that club." He fixed Jensen with Sammy Winchester's best kicked-puppy look, and pouted for added effect. "Honestly, Jensen. I know you're cheating on me with some skank; you don't even _try_ to hide it."

Jensen heard Jared's heartbeat pick up, and a spicy-sweet scent punched into Jensen's nose, making him inhale in shock. He passed it off as indignation and shock at Jared's statement, though. "Cheating on you? You bastard! How do I know _you're_ not cheating on _me_ with some bitch you meet up with when you walk the dogs?" he demanded.

Jared tried to maintain a shocked expression, but he couldn't keep from cracking up. "Oh God, you're right," he laughed, shoving at Jensen in mock disgust. "You've caught me, Jensen. I did meet a bitch while I was walking the dogs. I'm secretly into bestiality!"

Jensen busted out laughing, falling off of the couch with the force of his laughter. "Oh God, Jare," he cackled, holding his sides. "Whatever makes you happy dude. When you gonna bring her home?" He smirked at Jared, absently noting the adorable little crinkles at the corner of his eyes, and the way Jared's eyes shone.

Jared grinned down at Jensen, and nudged him with his foot. "Quit staring at me, you goof," he admonished, still laughing. "I'm not bringing her home at all; you'll just want to watch and we don't have an exhibitionist kink." He picked up his controller again and resumed the game, giving Jensen another kick. "Now get back up here. It's no fun if I beat you without you even trying."

Jensen snickered, then used Jared's pant leg and arm to hoist himself up onto the couch. He lightly punched Jared on the arm. "I've been practicing," he said haughtily. "It won't be so easy to beat me now." Ignoring Jared's disbelieving scoff, Jensen proceeded to pick up his controller, start the game, and beat the pants off of Jared.

Jared was still ranting about being beaten when they went to bed later that night, but mostly it was for show. He was still trying to wrap his head around what was wrong with Jensen—he'd been acting weird all day. Not that Jared could put his finger on precisely what the weird was, but it was definitely something, and he was worried. Still, he told himself as he slid beneath the covers and was promptly leapt upon by two dogs, there was no use pushing for an answer. Jensen would come to him when he was ready, Jared was sure of it.

Jensen held his breath as he laid in bed, waiting for Jared's heartbeat to settle into sleep. When Jared had finally admitted defeat and gone to bed, Jensen had smelled... suspicion, almost. He had to work on acting normally.

Once Jared's heart had slowed, Jensen eased from the bed, crept out of the apartment, and made his way to the club. He drank from a couple of different people—men and women—making sure to persuade their minds that they did nothing more than go to the bathrooms with some faceless guy. He felt like a wineskin filled almost to bursting when he was done, and by the time he slunk back into the apartment—being careful to make no noise—it was going on 3AM.

***

The next few weeks passed with increasing weirdness from Jensen. He still wasn't messing up on set, but off set was a different story. He seemed constantly restless, even though Jared knew he went out every night, and he was finding excuse after excuse for them to not spend any time together. If Jared somehow persuaded him to take the dogs for a walk on a nice day, he wouldn't stay out for more than an hour, squinting like he had a headache towards the end of it. Jared was starting to wonder with an increasing sense of dread if Jensen was sick.   
It was with this thought in mind that he asked Jensen to have lunch with him on their day off. Jensen was reluctant, but Jared insisted, and won him over by giving him a choice between half an hour in a cafe and an hour outside in the sun. Jared got up early to run with the dogs and dragged Jensen out of bed before jumping in the shower. A couple of hours and a last ditch attempt to get out of it later, they were sat opposite each other at a table, waiting for their orders. Jensen was talking—willingly participating in conversation for the first time in what felt like forever—about something that had happened on set while he was filming some scenes on his own, and Jared was loathe to interrupt him, but he couldn't resist.

"Don't look now," he murmured, cutting Jensen off with a grin, "but there's some guy checking you out." Sure enough, sitting at the table in the far corner of the cafe was a blond man, maybe just a bit older than them and remarkably good looking—and he was staring at Jensen.

Jensen almost hated to admit it, but he was having fun with Jared. He'd been avoiding Jared for the past few weeks, wary of tipping Jared off any further that Jensen wasn't quite normal anymore. "Oh really?" he asked when Jared pointed off to the side, and he turned with a grin on his face, until he saw who it was.

James.

Jensen's grin froze and then morphed into a snarl, a growl rumbling up from his chest as his eyes flashed red. He knew they had flashed; he'd seen them in the mirror. He shoved away from the table, mindful of his strength, and strode across the cafe, snagging James by the arm and dragging him into the crowd and away from Jared. "What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed.

James allowed himself to be pulled from his table, but when he met Jensen's gaze, his eyes were blazing with fury. "Observing," he said smoothly, arching an eyebrow. "Is that Jared over there? He's very attractive; I can see the appeal. Fucking huge though."

"Leave Jared out of this," Jensen rumbled. "I told you I’d never turn anyone; Jared is no concern of yours." He cast a quick glance back at Jared, who was watching them intensely, a frown on his face.

James allowed his gaze to flick to Jared before settling back on Jensen's face. "Have you been feeding from him?" he asked curiously. "You could, you know. I bet his blood tastes even better than it smells."

Jensen snarled and took another step forward, barely a breath of air between them. "No," he growled. "Jared doesn't know. And I'm not going to use any of those mind tricks on him to convince him I didn't just drink his blood if that ever happened."

Sensing that Jensen didn't have enough control to keep himself in check, James took a smart step backwards. "Okay," he said easily, with a tight smile. "It was just a suggestion. I'll see you around." Without waiting for a response, James left the cafe, leaving Jensen to return to a gaping Jared.  
Jared, whose mind was spinning. He hadn't heard what Jensen had said to the guy, but it looked like he'd gone over there to chew him out for staring. Sure, it had been a little creepy, but it was harmless. Why had Jensen reacted so badly? Jared had never received any impression that Jensen was homophobic, but maybe he'd been reading him wrong...

"Hey," he greeted when Jensen sat down again, with a nervous laugh that gave away how uncomfortable he felt. "What was that all about?"

"Fucking bastard gettin' a bit too friendly," Jensen growled. He forced himself to take a deep breath, the swirling scents of Jared, the cafe, and the other people in the cafe helping to calm him. After a couple of moments, Jensen looked back up at Jared, offering a tentative, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's just been an odd month; I'm a bit out of sorts. Let's not worry about it, all right? I just want a nice, normal outing." _Even though "normal" isn't really part of my vocabulary anymore._

Jared's mouth worked soundlessly for a few moments. Jensen thought a guy was getting too friendly because he'd been eyeing him up? The notion unsettled Jared, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't—because the other stuff Jensen had said, about being out of sorts for the last month, implied that his suspicions had been accurate. Jensen was sick.

"Listen, man, is there anything you wanna tell me?" Jared asked tentatively, brushing off Jensen's apology for his strange behavior. "Whatever it is, you know I'll stand by you. If you need help, or..."

Jensen had to swallow; Jared offering his unconditional support and help almost had him asking to feed. He shook his head, though. "Nah, man, it's cool." He grinned at Jared, kicking him lightly under the table. "Look, here comes our food," he said, catching a whiff of their orders from the other side of the cafe as the door opened and their waitress brought it out.

Jared looked over to the door behind the counter and was about to kick Jensen back for getting his hopes up—but then the door opened, and a waitress appeared with their food. He grinned at Jensen. "Dude!" he laughed as the plates were set down on their table. "What are you, psychic or something?" Distracted from Jensen's weirdness by the delicious-looking burger before him, Jared said no more. The subject didn't come up again for the rest of the day.

***  
Several nights later, Jared had insisted on accompanying Jensen out. "C'mon, man," he'd whined. "You're always sneaking out late; let me come with you once!" Jensen had finally given in; he never could resist the puppy eyes.

When they got into the club, called Aquarius, Jensen and Jared had hung out, chatted with a couple of fans, and had a drink before Jensen finally decided that he could risk going to find someone to feed from. He told Jared where he was going, and Jared just nodded and waved him on. He made his way easily onto the dance floor, letting his eyes close and his senses shift into hunting mode.

James had been watching Jensen for quite some time, but the girl who was draped all over him had thus far masked his scent. Healing the bite marks on the side of her neck with a flick of his tongue, he sent her on his way when he saw Jensen make for the dance floor, and followed him. "Still not feeding from him, huh?" James breathed into Jensen's ear, knowing he would be heard. "It's a real shame. He smells _so_ much better than any of the whores in here."

Jensen refused to let James intimidate him. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, turning his head to reply, "Fuck you, James. I'm not letting Jared find out about me. Or _any_ vampire," he added, his voice dangerous as he turned the rest of the body to lock eyes with James, a soft growl underlying his words. "Jared is human, and he believes the world doesn't work like it did in Supernatural. I want him to keep believing that."

That, in James' opinion, was the weakest argument he'd ever heard, and he said as much. "He'd get off on it," he continued, pressing himself against Jensen. "You remember what it was like with me. He'd _love_ it. Let you drink from him whenever you wanted—hell, he might even beg you for it. And you'd both come harder than ever before. Don't you want that? Don't you want him to want you, to _need_ you, as much as you need him?"

Jensen let his eyes flash red, knowing the lights in the club would hide it from the humans. "I won't use him like that. _If_ he ever felt the same as me, I don't want it to be because of the bite."

James' expression showed his disgust, but he leaned in closer still all the same, and sunk his teeth into Jensen's neck. He could see Jared over Jensen's shoulder, watching them with barely disguised shock that was quickly morphing into jealousy, and allowed himself a quick drink before pulling back. "You'll miss out," he warned softly, a smirk on his blood-stained lips. "He will never feel that way for you—not without a little encouragement. Enjoy your night." Pleased with himself, James disappeared into the crowd, intent on finding his own meal. 

Jensen hissed when James's teeth broke his skin, but the wound healed almost as soon as James pulled away. He growled, anger coursing through him, and he used that anger to convince a guy to meet him in the bathroom, where he shoved him into a stall and drank almost too deeply. The guy actually passed out, and Jensen forced himself to detach, the blood currently coating his throat soothing some of his anger. He waited until the guy's wound had healed, and he whispered some lie that would explain the guy being passed out in a bathroom stall.

Jensen did a quick check to make sure he was presentable, and then he made his way back to the bar and ordered a beer, downing half of it in one go.

Jared stared at Jensen as he drank deeply from a beer, unable to believe what he'd just seen. Not only had Jensen let the guy from the cafe make out with his neck, but he'd then proceeded to drag _another_ guy off the dance floor and into the bathroom, where they'd done only God knew what. Maybe he'd misread Jensen's actions in the cafe...

"Dude," Jared choked out when Jensen finally finished chugging his beer. "What the fuck was that?"

Jensen slammed his beer down onto the table, squeezing his eyes shut. "Nothing," he growled under his breath. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Jared gaped. Was this guy for real? "Jensen," he persisted, refusing to let the subject drop. "I'm pretty sure you just got off with that guy in the bathroom. That's not nothing."

"I didn't get off with him!" Jensen snarled, whirling on Jared. "I don't get off with—" Jensen made himself take another deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, barely loud enough to be heard over the noise in the club.

Jared didn't say anything for a long moment. Once again, his mind was racing. Part of him wanted to confess his sexuality, in case it would help Jensen admit his own, but he didn't dare. If Jensen was being this hard on himself, Jared shuddered to think how hard he'd be on him. "Listen," he said at last, fixing his best friend with a stern look. "If you're straight, that's fine. If you're gay, or bi, that's fine too. I'm from Texas, Jensen, but I'm not an asshole. As long as you're happy, I don't care." He took a deep breath, and stood up from his seat at the bar. "But don't take whatever fucked up issue you have with your preferences out on me. I'm gonna go home, okay?"

Jensen studied Jared for a moment, and then nodded. Better than Jared think Jensen was struggling with the issue of his sexuality than with not jumping Jared and feeding from him. "See you at home, Jare." He turned back to the dance floor, surveying it as he finished his beer. Spotting his next target, Jensen put down the empty bottle and easily slipped back into the crowd.

Jared took his time getting home, feeling upset and confused. His best friend was, apparently, homophobic. He was also gay, or at least bi. That might explain why his relationship with Danneel had been such a disaster, but it didn't fill Jared with confidence. If Jensen couldn't even accept himself, how could he ever accept Jared? 

There was a bottle of rum left over from God only knew what in the apartment, and with the dogs shut up in his bedroom, Jared proceeded to get hammered. The drunker he got, the angrier he became. Who the fuck was Jensen to treat him like this; to go out night after night to fuck guys and then come home feeling so ashamed of himself that he wouldn't even talk to his so-called best friend outside of work? Of course, Jared had no evidence that Jensen was using his nightly club sessions to hook up with men, but it made sense. And it pissed him off. Why was Jensen going out, risking disease and whatever else just to get laid, when he had a perfectly willing guy who loved him waiting at home?

It was with this thought in mind that he stood up, deciding that it was time to go to bed. If Jensen was to come home right now, Jared might say some of those things to him, and that would be catastrophic. As he made to cross the living room, moving awkwardly, the corner of the coffee table struck his shin. He was drunk enough that he didn't feel it, but he went down hard, the bottle in his hand shattering as he hit the floor and shards of glass slicing deep into his palm. _That_ he felt, and he was still cursing in pain when he heard a key in the front door.

Great. Jensen was home.

The sound of the key scraping in the lock couldn't drown out the sound of glass breaking inside the apartment, or Jared hissing in pain. Jensen threw open the door, letting it slam shut behind him as the scent of blood— _Jared's_ blood—slammed into Jensen's nose. He instinctively inhaled, and felt his teeth trying to elongate, wanting to bury themselves in that deliciously soft skin, and let that tantalizing blood flow.

Jensen made himself breathe through his mouth as he moved preternaturally fast through the apartment to the living room, stopping when he saw Jared sprawled on the floor, the scent of rum almost drowning out Jared's natural scent, and broken glass around him. "Jared?" Jensen's voice sounded funny, even to him, and he was still trying to throw off the bloodlust.

"S'alright," Jared slurred, pulling himself into a sitting position. He looked at his hand, already slick with blood, and made a sound of surprise. "Or maybe s'not; this is a mess." Experimentally, he tugged a shard off glass out of his palm, and dropped it on the floor. "Guess I'm the clum—clumsy one after all, huh? Shit, this is bleeding like a bitch, pass me a—" He looked up at Jensen, intending to ask him for a towel, and immediately forgot his question. "Fuck! What's wrong with your eyes?"

Jensen swallowed hard, debating with himself. Eventually he figured that it couldn't hurt, and carefully lowered himself to his knees in front of Jared. "Nothing's wrong with my eyes, Jay," he said softly, tentatively reaching for Jared's bleeding hand. He slowly brought it to his mouth, inhaled once—even tainted with alcohol, Jared's blood was the most alluring thing he'd ever smelled—and then gently licked the blood off, almost groaning in pleasure as the taste collected on his tongue and in his throat.

It wasn't entirely sweet, but rather a thorough mix of sweet fruit and tart citrus, interspersed with some sort of spice. Ginger, maybe. Jensen could become very addicted, very fast. Even that girl from the park hadn't had blood this potent; Jared's blood seemed to ease some ache, fill some hole deep inside Jensen.

Once Jared's hand was clean, Jensen traced his tongue over the cuts, carefully and tenderly picking out the glass. His saliva would help the wounds to heal, and also allow Jensen to more easily convince Jared that this was just a drunken dream.

"C'mon," he murmured once he was done, getting to his feet and tugging Jared up with him. "Let's get you to bed."

Jared had just watched, silent and pliant, while Jensen licked his wounds clean, unsure whether it was Jensen's breath or his own that was coming in short, sharp pants. It was only when he stood up that his arousal made itself known, and he realized through a cloud of drunkenness that he was harder than he'd ever been in his life. "Did you just drink my blood?" he asked as Jensen steered him toward his bedroom. His eyes were half closed and he couldn't really think straight but he managed a soft snicker at the sheer ridiculousness of the question. Still, it couldn't be denied; "It was hot..."

Jensen could smell and see just how hot Jared found Jensen's attention, and he forced himself to keep his tone light as he helped Jared into bed. "It was all just a dream," he murmured, his voice dropping to the persuasion tone. "Nothing happened, Jare. You got drunk and went to sleep before I got home. You never cut your hand, I never drank your blood, and I never did this." Jensen couldn't help himself; he leaned down and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to Jared's lips, pulling back immediately. "It was all a dream," he repeated, pulling away from the bed and turning and walking out to go clean up the rest of the glass and blood before going to bed himself, the taste of Jared's blood still heavy on his tongue.

When Jared woke up the next morning, he felt like shit. His mouth tasted like something had died inside it, his stomach was rolling, his head was pounding—and through it all was the nagging certainty that he had forgotten something important. He just couldn't remember what.  
He managed to stagger into the kitchen about an hour after waking up, and didn't even see Jensen until he'd taken some painkillers and downed two glasses of water and half a mug of coffee. "Oh, hi," he mumbled groggily when he caught sight of his roommate sitting at the table. Jared went over to join him. "I feel like I made a complete ass of myself last night, so if I did, I'm sorry." The truth was, he couldn't even remember Jensen coming home, but that probably meant he'd been drunker than usual and the important thing he'd forgotten was some embarrassing escapade.

Jensen studied Jared for a moment. He didn't seem to remember what had happened last night after Jensen had come home. "You didn't do anything, Jare," he said quietly. "If anything, I made an ass of myself, especially at the bar. I'm sorry."

Jared rubbed a hand over his face. Yeah, he remembered that just fine. He also remembered going home to get wasted because Jensen had chosen to mack on two other guys last night instead of him, and then denied it like the pathetic cretin he was. In the harsh light of day, however, Jared felt inclined to believe that he was the pathetic one, not Jensen. "Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked tentatively, almost afraid of the answer.

Jensen swallowed, still able to taste Jared's blood, more of which was currently pulsing through Jared's body, directly in front of Jensen. "Not really," he said, shrugging. "I can promise you, though, that I don't get off with them, any of them." The only one he wanted to get off with was Jared, but there was no way in hell that would ever work out.

Jared blinked, processing this information as quickly as he could. If Jensen wasn't getting off with them, what was he doing? A sudden thought occurred to him and he couldn't stop himself from demanding, "Is it drugs?"

Jensen stared at Jared for a second before cracking up. "Oh god, dude, I'm sorry, but—Oh, Jesus. No. No, it's not drugs, I promise you that," he assured Jared. _It's something much worse._ But he couldn't let Jared know about that, couldn't correct Jared's misconception that humans were still at the top of the food chain.

 _Well what, then?!_ Jared wanted to shout, but he didn't. Jensen didn't want to share and pushing the issue would only get him to close off more. He was laughing, at least, and Jared hadn't seen him laugh for weeks. It didn't matter that it was at his expense; Jared thought he looked beautiful anyway. "Well, okay then," he sighed, and hoped he didn't look too dejected as he pushed away from the table. "When you're ready to share, I'll be here. I'm gonna go take a shower."

Jensen watched Jared go, and he sighed to himself, scrubbing a hand through his hair. How the hell was he going to fix things with Jared? If this kept up—

Jensen's thoughts were interrupted by a beep from his phone. He picked it up, seeing he had a notification. He almost dropped the phone when he saw what it was.

The new moon was in three days.

***  
The rest of the week was, once again, weird. Jensen seemed even more restless and distracted than usual, and he was back to screwing up takes on set. Jared still didn't ask though, not even when their director told them to go home after what felt like the millionth attempt to shoot the simplest scene. Harley and Sadie attacked them as soon as they walked into the apartment and Jared groaned, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay," he soothed, trying to calm the dogs, before turning to Jensen. "Find us something to watch, okay? I'm gonna take these guys out. And get me a beer; you owe me!" The last part was called over his shoulder as he pulled the door shut behind him. They may have been given unexpected time off, but it was still going to be a long day.

Jensen whined softly to himself as he paced the apartment, waiting for Jared to get back. Ever since he'd had a taste of Jared's blood, he'd been more restless than ever. Plus with the new moon coming up tonight, Jensen had no clue what he was going to do. Maybe he'd just lock himself in the bathroom.

Eventually he grabbed two beers from the kitchen and settled onto the couch, idly flipping through the controls as Jared let the dogs back in. Harley made a beeline for Jensen, but Jensen pinned him with a look and a soft growl, and Harley stopped, then continued forward at a more sedate pace. "Good run?" he asked conversationally, trying to ignore how much he wanted just one little taste of Jared's blood, undoubtedly still spiked with the runner's high endorphins.

"Yup," Jared answered, smiling brightly. "Must've really tired them out; they're normally all over you. I didn't take them far but maybe they can't handle more than one run in a day." He flopped down on the sofa beside Jensen, still slightly out of breath, and picked up his beer. "Nothing on TV?"

"Nah, not really." Jensen kept flipping through the channels, trying to ignore Jared sitting right _there_. He paused when he heard his name come from the TV.

It was an entertainment news show, and the woman was talking about the results of some online poll. Apparently, Jensen had won a poll about who was more "Supernaturally Sexy." The irony hit Jensen like a sledgehammer, and he doubled over, laughing.

Jared laughed too, but he had to admit that he didn't find it as funny as Jensen seemed to. "Come on, man," he chortled, exasperated and amused, watching tears of mirth bead at the corners of Jensen's eyes. "It was long ago established that most of the fans think you're prettier. There's no pride to be found in looking like a girl, ya know."

Jensen just snickered some more. How could he explain that it was so funny because Jensen _was_ one of the supernatural, and not all of his allure came from his original looks? He ended up just shaking his head and saying, "It's just funny, and exactly what I needed to hear."

Jared just gave him a bemused look. "What, you needed to hear that you're hotter than me?" He snorted. "Whatever, man. You're nuts. Go call your mom or something and tell her how _supernaturally sexy_ you are while I sit here trying not to die of jealousy."

Jensen just laughed and shook his head, reaching over to carefully punch Jared in the shoulder. "I already knew it, Jare. Just nice to hear it. And you have no reason to be jealous, you know you're always the most beautiful on set."

Jared stared at Jensen, turning those words over in his mind. Surely he didn't... It clicked, and he kicked Jensen hard. "'Cause of my luscious locks, right?" he smirked, patting at his hair and preening like a teenage girl. "You're a goddamn asshole, you know that? Put Halo on, I'm in the mood to kick your ass."

Jensen laughed and ruffled Jared's locks—they _were_ luscious, and Jensen wanted nothing more than to run his hands through them, maybe tugging a bit while he kissed Jared—before doing as Jared said. "Bring it on, bitch," he smirked.

Jared was actually surprised when he beat Jensen not once, but five times. It was actually pissing him off. Jensen wasn't even trying, too preoccupied by whatever was going on in his head to pay any attention to what he was doing. Obviously something was wrong, but whenever Jared asked, Jensen just brushed him off and started another game, only to hand Jared his virtual ass almost straight away. Eventually, Jensen's restlessness got so bad that he couldn't keep his focus on the game at all, so they put a movie on.   
About an hour into it, Jensen stood up abruptly and announced that he was going out; Jared knew that meant he was going to a club. "I'll come with you," he said, watching Jensen carefully. "I'll buy you a drink as consolation for that whupping I gave you."

Jensen shook his head. He could feel the new moon, tugging at him in some intangible way. "No, I'm going out alone. Don't feel like company." Before Jared could respond, Jensen was out of the apartment and striding down the sidewalk at almost five times the speed of a human. That was another thing he could discover; vampires were naturally fast, with the potential to travel even faster. Most times Jensen had to focus on keeping himself at human speed.

As he walked down the sidewalk, Jensen focused solely on getting to the most crowded club he could find, and feeding as much as possible to keep himself under control. He didn't know how other vampires worked—and he sure as hell as he wasn't asking James—but blood often worked to soothe him if he was upset or pissed. It didn't work on arousal, sadly. Blood only heightened that.

Finally Jensen came to Aquarius, where James had bit him the second time and he'd had the fight with Jared. The sounds of all the beating hearts inside blended with the music, and Jensen could already feel himself slipping into hunting mode.

It took Jared two minutes to make his decision, and then another five to find his keys. By the time he got outside, of course, Jensen was nowhere to be seen. Refusing to be discouraged, Jared walked determinedly to the end of the street and caught a cab into town. They'd only ever been to one club together and Jared had no idea if Jensen was a regular or if that had been a one-off, but it was as good a place as any to start his search.  
That he hadn't been too drunk to remember the name of the club was a miracle, and Jared paid the driver when they pulled up outside Aquarius with a heartfelt thanks. The driver looked like he would have preferred a tip but Jared wasn't in the mood to be generous; he was a man on a mission. Inside, the walls were practically vibrating with the beat of the music and the air reeked of sweat, vomit and sex. Not really the best combination, but it was the same as every other nightclub he'd ever been in, so he just focused on breathing through his mouth as he made his way to the bar.

The plan had been to shout a description of Jensen to the bartender in the hope that he'd been spotted, but the music meant that he couldn't be heard. On a whim, Jared showed the guy a photo of the two of them together, and to his great surprise and relief, he said pointed toward a spot on the other side of the club. Jared whirled around, and his jaw dropped. _That lying bastard!_ Jensen was there all right, pressing some guy up against a wall—and making out with him. Heavily. 

Jared's instincts told him to get out of there, to give Jensen his privacy and just talk to him about it tomorrow, but he'd always been stupid when it came to Jensen Ackles. Full of righteous indignation that was definitely _not_ fuelled by jealousy, Jared shoved his way across the dance floor until he was right behind the couple and grabbed Jensen's shoulder. "Thought you didn't make out with guys?!" he hollered over the music—or at least, he intended to. The words kind of died in his throat when he saw the blood smeared across Jensen's lips, and the gaping wound in his partner's neck.

Jensen had been so focused on drinking that he hadn't heard or scented Jared's approach. The guy he'd been feeding from whined at the loss of Jensen and the aphrodisiac in Jensen's saliva, but he didn't pay him any mind. All he could think of—with the new moon blending into the sky, bloodlust in his veins, and fire in his eyes—was Jared, Jared's scent, Jared's _blood_ , right there in front of him. His vision went a bit red around the edges as his gaze zeroed in on the vein pulsing in Jared's neck.

Jensen snarled and pounced, grabbing Jared by the shoulders and slamming him up against the wall, attacking Jared's neck, his only thought to get to the blood, the only blood that would soothe that ache deep inside him, help calm the new moon frenzy.

The cry of terror that left Jared's lips as Jensen lunged for him quickly turned into a moan of pleasure. He should be pushing Jensen away, screaming for help, kicking this _monster's_ ass—but he couldn't. He didn't want to. Jensen was sucking his blood and it felt _so good_. Jared whined, fingers scrabbling desperately at Jensen's shoulders before winding into his hair and pressing him closer, desperate for more of this dizzying ecstasy.

Jensen growled in approval and Jared pressed him closer, the only thoughts going through Jensen’s mind _yes, good, more, mine, mine, mine._

He licked at the wound, making sure that all Jared would be feeling was pleasure, and also gently checking that he wasn't drinking too much. He decided he could take a bit more, he just needed a little more and he'd be okay for the rest of the night. He went after Jared's neck again, this time more gently, more like a lover would than a starving monster. He tenderly nipped and sucked, taking more blood until he was almost clear-headed. He suddenly didn't want to be in the club anymore, he wanted to be home.

Jensen pulled back, ignoring Jared's whine of protest, laving over the broken skin with his tongue, the healing agent in Jensen's spit getting to work immediately. He eagerly licked the last bit of blood from his lips, and then grabbed Jared, pulling one arm around his shoulders, helping Jared stumble out of the club and to the street, where he called a cab and headed home.

Once they were there, Jensen's mind was starting to slow, made sluggish by the blood currently coating his throat and also by the new moon starting its descent. Jensen led them both to Jared's bed, which was bigger, and he didn't bother stripping either of them before collapsing onto the bed on top of Jared, Jared's heartbeat slowing. Jensen's slowed to match, and soon they were both asleep.

When Jared woke up with the morning sun falling across his face, his first thought was that he'd had the best sex of his life last night. A lazy smile on his lips, he rolled over to sling an arm around his partner— _Male, okay_ —and opened his eyes.

Jensen. _Jensen?!_  
Everything came flooding back with a rush of nausea and horror, and Jared recoiled, the hand that had been splayed over Jensen's hip coming up to paw at his neck. The skin was perfectly smooth and it didn't hurt, but that didn't mean Jensen hadn't been chowing down on him last night like some kind of... 

Blinded by panic, Jared put all his strength into shoving Jensen out of bed and onto the floor and then leapt out on his own side, seizing the lamp on the nightstand and brandishing it like a sword. "What the fuck did you do to me, you son of a bitch?" he demanded of a cursing Jensen, his voice high and scared. "What the fuck _are_ you?!"

Jensen leapt to his feet, teeth bared in a snarl and his eyes flashing, before he realized that it was just Jared who'd—

Who'd shoved him out of bed.

The bed they'd been sleeping in together.

After Jensen—

 _Oh God._ Jensen felt sick, but of course vampires couldn't get sick except from garlic, and there was none in the room. He remembered getting to the club, finding a guy, and being in the middle of feeding when Jared showed up, and then Jensen had lost himself to the new moon and fed from Jared. He'd broken his promise in less than a month, and he didn't even have the excuse of just cleaning up to hide behind this time.

Slowly, Jensen made himself relax, his teeth retracting and his eyes returning to their normal green color. He took a deep breath through his mouth, trying not to take in any of Jared's scent. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean—" He sighed in frustration. "I didn't want to, not like that. I thought, maybe after I knew how to control it better—fuck, man, it's only been a month—I'd tell you, hell, show you. I certainly wasn't going to—" Jensen gestured vaguely at his own neck.

"To what, fucking _eat me_?" Jared practically shrieked. He was terrified—just seconds ago Jensen had been all pointed teeth and bright red eyes—and even though his best friend was clearly in some distress, he couldn't push past the anger, the fear. Against all reason, both made him bold. "You haven't answered my question, Jensen. What are you?"

Jensen held up his hands placatingly—Jared couldn't really injure him, even with that lamp, but it would still hurt like a bitch. "Remember that homeless guy, how we were kidding around, saying it was a vampire? We were right. And I was right about the new moon part of it; it's why I lost control last night and drank from you." Jensen continued to watch Jared warily, ready to disarm his friend—oh god, Jared hated him, he had to, there was no way he didn't, he was going to quit, or throw Jensen out, or something—if Jared seemed like he was actually going to attack.

Harley and Sadie came bounding in through the open door, thinking Jared and Jensen were playing, and they wanted in—until Jensen growled, low and deep in the back of his throat, curling his upper lip a bit. Both dogs immediately braked and then plonked down on the floor, rolling over to expose their bellies until Jensen stopped growling. Becoming a vampire had put him more in touch with the animalistic side of human nature.

This display of dominance, more than anything, spurred Jared to react. He couldn't even process the whole vampire thing right now—part of him wanted to call Jensen insane, or a liar, but the other part knew full well that it was true and was freaking the fuck out—so he dropped to his knees beside his dogs instead, to run his hand through their fur. "You leave them alone," he snapped, still wielding his makeshift weapon. "Don't screw with them like that, they don't deserve it." When Jensen seemed like he was going to stay on the other side of the room, Jared cautiously put the lamp down and then spent the next few minutes petting his babies while his mind raced. At last, he found his tongue again. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly, his gaze fixed on Sadie's nose.

Jensen watched his roommate petting his dogs, and he worried his lower lip. "I'm sorry, it's just instinct," he murmured, slowly sinking to sit on the floor as the weight of what he'd done last night—and how badly he had screwed things up—became too much for him to stand under.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat as he searched for words to explain his silence to Jared without revealing the _why_. "I just... I wasn't turned willingly. Didn't even know what had happened. And then, well." Jensen shrugged, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "You were already suspicious, and I didn’t—didn't want to lose you." He huffed out a dry, humorless laugh. "Didn't want to scare you off," he added, his voice layered with self-deprecation.

Jared looked up at that, and met Jensen's gaze. Jensen, who had been his best friend for so long; who, if what he said was true, needed him now more than he ever had, even when his relationship with Danneel had fallen apart. All the same, Jared was wary. "Are you still... you?" he wondered, voice barely more than a whisper.

Jensen nodded. "It's harder, under the new moon. But the more often I fed, the easier it was to stay in control." _And not jump you._ He hesitated before adding, "I might've... behaved better, last night, if you hadn't interrupted me in the middle of feeding." Jensen made a small noise in the back of his throat as he remembered, "Poor bastard. Didn't get him off like I did the others."

"Thought you said you didn't get off with them," Jared quipped, smirking as his thoughts were redirected to last night, and the reason he'd been chasing Jensen in the first place. The distraction didn't last long, though; he soon became serious again. "You really thought this was the best way to not lose me, or scare me off? You hid this from me, you _lied_ to me, you let me think—" Jared cut himself off, unsure how to finish that sentence. "And then you tried to eat me in the middle of a club. Fucking A, Jen." He snorted and looked away. "Have you ever killed anyone? Why didn't you kill me?"

Jensen snorted. " _I_ don't get off, but they do. You felt it last night," he pointed out. "The pleasure? The addiction, wanting more? There's an aphrodisiac in my saliva. And a healing agent, that's why there's no mark on your neck. And a latent venom that would turn you, but only if you drank my blood." He paused, trying to decide how to explain the other bit to Jared. "As for the killing," he finally began, "no, I've never killed anyone. I drink from a lot more than most vampires do, I suspect—the one who turned me admitted to killing that homeless man, and I'm pretty sure he's killed others—but I make sure they don't remember me."

Jared flushed, remembering just how hot he'd found it when Jensen had been drinking his blood. It had been pleasure like he'd never felt before—but he didn't have long to dwell on it. Something Jensen had said was triggering a memory within Jared, and it was fighting its way to the surface of his mind like a long-forgotten dream. _Oh my God..._ "You've done it before, haven't you?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "You fed from me, and you made me forget. Didn't you?"

Jensen flushed, looking away guiltily. "The night we went to the club. You came home after we argued, got hammered on a whole bottle of rum, tripped, fell, and smashed the empty bottle, slicing up your hand pretty badly. I just... cleaned it up, helped it heal, then got you into your bed and left." He didn't say anything about the kiss; this was already bad enough without throwing _that_ bombshell into the mix.

Jared couldn't believe it. He stared at Jensen for a long moment before finding his tongue once more. "You know, for all that you claim to not want to lose me, you're doing an awesome job of pushing me away," he snapped. "You violated my mind, my... my body. And you lied to me. You knew I was worried about you, and you still lied to me. Christ, Jensen, I thought you were sick. I thought you were _dying_. What part of you thinks the truth is worse than that?"

Jensen barked out a laugh. "Dude, I'm already dead," he said, his voice flat. "That's what happens when you're turned, why I was especially weird the first few days. I was systematically dying and being revived." He was on his feet faster than Jared's human eyes could track and Jensen's eyes flashed red as he snarled, "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd react like this, if you found out before I had a handle on it. I was _going_ to tell you, eventually, but you _had_ to get nosy. Well, congrats, Jare. Now you know." Jensen stalked out of the bedroom and straight out the door, snagging a pair of sunglasses on his way out. He didn't know where he would go, but Jensen knew he couldn't stay there, not with Jared looking at him with betrayal in his eyes.

Jared was left shaking, unsure what had just happened. Harley gently butted his wet nose against his master's hand, the cold making Jared jump, and whined softly. Jared managed a weak smile and tickled under Harley's chin. "It's okay, boy," he soothed, although he didn't know that for sure. Sadie came over to rest her head in Jared's lap, and the three of them stayed like that for a long time, lost in their own thoughts.  
Jensen was a vampire. Jared was in love with a vampire. Did that make a difference? Was that somehow worse than being in love with his best friend? Jared didn't know. He didn't think so; at the end of the day, Jensen was his best _friend_ , undead or not.   
It was simultaneously the best and worst realization Jared had ever come to. 

***

Jensen came close to killing his first feeder that day.

He'd been walking—stalking—down an alley, wanting to be alone, and a homeless woman had touched him. It was just a hand on his arm, and she'd just asked for change, but Jensen reacted on autopilot, his teeth lengthening as he shoved her up against a wall behind a dumpster so they were hidden from view. He clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds she was making as he sank his teeth into her neck with a growl that was not even vaguely human and drank deeply.

And kept drinking until she stopped moving under him.

At that point, he heard a voice in the back of his mind—it sounded suspiciously like Jared's—screaming at him, telling to stop, he was _killing_ her, and he barely managed to claw his way back to full awareness, seal her wounds, and leave her in the alley, her heart beating sluggishly.

Disgusted with himself, Jensen wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand as he walked down the alley, his mind swirling with disgust and self-loathing. He froze when he heard a soft chuckle coming from the fire escape above his head, and he growled as he looked up.

"James."

James grinned and jumped down from the fire escape, landing gracefully on his feet just in front of Jensen. "Someone's hungry," he drawled, gesturing lazily toward the woman Jensen had almost drained dry. "The new moon was last night, you know." A breeze moved through the alley, catching Jensen's scent and delivering it straight to James, who froze. "You fed from him," he murmured, peering curiously at Jensen as all the pieces fell together in his head. A slow, self-satisfied smirk quirked his lips. "I can smell him all over you. You fed from him, you _told_ him, and... he freaked out?" James laughed. "Priceless, Jenny. You had the potential to make a willing slave out of him and you fucked it up. Well done."

Jensen snarled, his hands clenching into fists. "I don't want Jared as a slave," he snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you that?" He growled, taking a step closer to James. "Why the hell are you taking such an interest in him, anyway?"

James shrugged, unfazed by Jensen's display. He was older—centuries older—and way more experienced; this idiot wasn't a threat. "Because you're interested in him," he answered simply. "You're so hung up on him, aching for him in ways you don't even understand, and he couldn't be more oblivious. He couldn't care less. I just want to see how it all plays out."

"Then go watch from somewhere else," Jensen grumbled, spinning on his heel and walking away before he did something he'd probably regret—like get into a fight with James.

Jensen's footsteps led him throughout the city, his mind wandering, but eventually he found himself standing outside of the apartment once more. He stared at the door, trying to decide if he should go in or run and hide some more, then shrugged. Might as well bite the bullet.

As he opened the door, it occurred to Jensen that Jared might have a literal bullet for him.

Jared didn't look up when he heard the door open, but Sadie slid down from where she'd been laying beside him on the couch all morning to run over and greet Jensen. Jared did raise his head then, to shoot Jensen a warning glance: _Don't fuck with my dogs_. When Jensen had finished saying hello to both Sadie and Harley, who had wandered in from the kitchen for cuddles, Jared stood up. "I didn't think you'd come back," he mumbled, hoping that Jensen would think his voice was so rough due to disuse, and not because he'd spent the last few hours crying like a baby.

Jensen curled his lip at Jared. "I don't always dominate them, Jared," he sneered. "I'm a vampire, not some insecure alpha." Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jensen shrugged, looking away from Jared as he added, "Thought about it," he said honestly. _For about five seconds._ Jensen was just too far in over his head over Jared to ever want to seriously leave. If Jared wanted him gone, though, Jensen would leave. "Did you want me to?"

"No!" Jared said quickly, stumbling forward one hesitant step. "Jesus, Jensen, I don't want you to go anywhere. And if you'd given me half a second to get my head around what you were telling me this morning instead of storming out like some prissy little princess, you'd know that." He took a moment to breathe, gathering his thoughts, and then tried again. "Look. I'm mad at you because you lied to me, and you used me, and you messed with my head. But you're my best friend, whether you're a human or a vampire or fucking Santa Claus. We can work this out, okay? No one has to lose anyone."

Jensen was quiet for several minutes, studying Jared carefully. He could hear the truth in Jared's heartbeat; it was elevated, but in anxiety, not deceit. Eventually, he nodded slowly, still watching Jared warily, half-expecting the human to freak out on him. "All right. But if you're going to stick around, invest in some garlic or silver to keep with you. Silver burns like a bitch, and garlic makes me sick."

Suddenly, Jared understood why Jensen had freaked out over the garlic in the food that night back when all this started. He would laugh about it, except that he didn't really like what Jensen had just said. "This isn't for protection against _you_?" he asked, frowning. He got needing to defend himself against other vampires, but Jensen had just specified that garlic made _him_ sick. "You're not gonna hurt me, are you?"

Jensen snorted. "Not intentionally, no. I didn't want to feed from you, ever. And then last night... I can usually control it any other time, but the new moon makes it harder. I'm sure it'll get easier, considering that was my first, but until then, you need to have some way of fending me off if I get out of control."

Jared relaxed slightly at Jensen's words, but in addition to relieving him, they also made him more determined than ever. He squared his shoulders and looked Jensen straight in the eye, preparing himself for a battle. "I trust you," he said firmly. "I know you won't let yourself lose control again, but I'll take the precautions if that's what you want. If you feed from me."

Jensen stared at Jared in shock. Jensen's ears had to be malfunctioning, or something, because there was no way in hell that Jared had just offered to let Jensen feed from. "What—Why—You— _What?_ " he spluttered, trying to ignore the part of his mind that was slapping him for not immediately pouncing on Jared's offer.

Jared was expecting this, and he had his arguments ready. "I've been thinking about it all day, and it just makes sense," he reasoned, holding his hands out to Jensen. "You go out every night to feed, and that can't be good. You're gonna get caught, or you'll slip up and kill someone. So feed from me. It's consensual, I'm not gonna expose you, and I'm your best friend; you'll be pretty pissed off with yourself if you take too much and I die." That last part was supposed to be a joke, but it fell flat. Jared literally placing his life in the hands of a vampire was hardly a laughing matter—and yet, somehow he'd never felt safer.

" _No!_ " Jensen shouted, scowling at Jared. "No, absolutely not, I am _not_ putting you in danger like that, Jared! You have no idea what you're offering, the risks—You could get addicted to it, Jared. And that would _not_ end well."

Jared laughed. "No I won't. Dude, you're good, but you're not _that_ good." It was  lie, and they both knew it. What Jared had felt last night, with Jensen's lips at his throat, slick with his blood, had been out of this world—and yes, part of his reasons behind making this offer had everything to do with being desperate for a repeat of that incredible experience, but the majority of his resolve came from a desire to protect Jensen; to give him what he needed. "Jen, let me do this for you. Please."

Jensen hesitated, torn between the two halves of himself. One half was screaming at him to take what Jared was offering, take that unlimited supply of the blood that was so addicting; the other half was telling him that this was a Very Bad Idea,  and nothing good could come of it, that in fact it would lead to Very Bad Things, namely Jared finding out that Jensen was in love with him. "Jared, you do this—your blood is just as addicting for me as the bite is for you. I'm only a month old. Less, actually. There's an extremely high chance that I will lose control."

Jared didn't really understand why he was fighting so hard for this, but he just couldn't let it go. "So we won't let ourselves get addicted," he suggested, finally admitting to Jensen in his own way how amazing last night had been for him. "You can still feed from other people, just not as often. We can work out whatever ratio is best, whether it'd be better for you to drink more or less from me around the new moon, that kind of thing. It's manageable, I bet it is. But you can't keep feeding from random people every night, you know that."

"Why not?" Jensen asked, but by this point it was a token protest. "It's what I've been doing since I was turned, what James has always done. He's never been caught."

Jared gave Jensen a soft smile. "That's because this James guy isn't a celebrity. When the show gets off the ground, you're gonna have paparazzi watching you like a hawk. Think about it, Jen. All it takes is one photo taken at the right angle at the right second and suddenly, you're not making out with some guy like they thought—you're drinking his blood."

Jensen glared at Jared. "Dammit, I hate it when you get all logical," he muttered. He swallowed reflexively, glancing away from Jared as he finally gave in. "Fine. I'll drink from you—but _not_ every night. Not only is it addicting for both of us, constantly draining you of as much blood as I need would place way too much of a strain on your system. It's why I drink from at least two different people every time."

Jared nodded. "I guess I can live with that," he said somberly. "I don't want you to kill me, after all. And I don't want you to turn me, either. One vampire running around on set is enough." He grinned brightly. Jensen had agreed to feed from him. He could have that rush of overwhelming pleasure whenever he wanted—and he wanted it now. "So..." Jared drawled, a slow smirk finding his lips. "Are you hungry?"

Jensen froze, staring at Jared for a moment before slowly nodding. He swallowed and walked forward, giving Jared plenty of time to walk away, to back out of this. When Jared stood his ground and tilted his head to expose his throat, Jensen pushed Jared down onto the couch. "Safer if you're already sitting," he murmured before carefully biting down on the side of Jared's neck, puncturing the vein, and drank.

***

Over the next month, Jensen and Jared fell into a rhythm. Work, rest, video games, and—depending on what night it was—either feeding or going out to a club. Every time Jensen fed from Jared, Jensen always got hit with the scent and taste of Jared's arousal, and he couldn't help but respond—but that was just it. Jared couldn't help his arousal; Jensen's bite was designed to make the feeding process as pleasurable as possible. It didn't mean anything, but that didn't stop Jensen from wishing it did.

Likewise, Jared was certain that Jensen couldn't help his arousal, either. He felt Jensen hard against his hip whenever he fed, and although he couldn't be certain, he thought maybe that Jensen had even gotten off a few times—Jared certainly had. But outside of their feeding sessions, Jensen never gave so much as a hint that he was interested in pursuing something more. It wasn't unexpected though, and Jared was willing to take whatever he could get from Jensen, even if that meant allowing him to drink his blood. 

Unfortunately, tonight was a club night. Now that he didn't have to hide it, Jensen left and returned a lot earlier, and Jared was currently curled up on the couch with his dogs, listening to Jensen getting ready and trying not to feel sorry for himself. He knew that Jensen couldn't feed from him too often, knew about the dangers of addiction or of Jensen losing control, but he couldn't help it; he was jealous. Jensen shouldn't have to go out and find random people to feed from, not when Jared had what he needed and was all too willing to hand it over.

Jared looked up when Jensen emerged from his room, dressed to impress as always. "You want some company tonight?" he offered, although he didn't suppose that Jensen would say yes. He never said yes; he just left Jared at home, wondering whether this would be the time he got caught.

Jensen paused, looking at Jared in surprise. The first few times after they'd started this—whatever "this" was—Jensen had left for a club, Jared had offered to come with him, but Jensen had always turned him down. Jared hadn't offered in weeks, and he looked like he expected Jensen to say no again.

Jensen thought for a moment, then grinned and shrugged. "Don't see why not; we haven't gone out together for a few weeks," he said, jerking his head toward the door. "C'mon."

Jared sat up, beaming. "Really?" he asked, and he realized that he sounded like an excited child, but he didn't care. He'd missed going out with Jensen more than he cared to admit. "Just let me change real quick." Jared got to his feet, earning himself a baleful look from Harley, and rushed off to his room to find a clean shirt. The one he chose was black and clung to him in all the right places. It had never let him down before, and Jared figured that since he was going to have to watch the man of his dreams feeding from someone else tonight, he deserved a little fun of his own. Maybe he, too, would have a guy pressed up against the wall of a club before the evening was over. Jared grinned when he joined Jensen in the living room, pushing his arms into a jacket as he walked. "Okay! Let's go find someone yummy."

"You mean for me, right? Or is there something you neglected to tell me, Jare?" Jensen teased, grinning widely. God, but he'd missed this, the easy friendship that had marked their time together on Supernatural. "C'mon, then, if we're going." He slung an arm around Jared's waist, giving him a quick squeeze before releasing the human and leading the way out of the apartment.

It was a stupid mistake. They took a cab into town but the traffic was horrendous, and Jensen was impatient; they decided to walk. It was a nice night. Jensen was kind enough to keep to Jared's pace instead of zooming ahead to find someone to snack on and they ambled along, laughing and joking together like they used to. It was remarkably freeing. For the first time in a long time, Jared felt like he had his best friend back, and it was incredible. 

Perhaps that was why he couldn't take his eyes off Jensen's face. After so long of them being almost constantly at odds with each other, he was finally allowed to _look_. He was still looking when he stepped off the curb, laughing at something Jensen had said, a quick glance behind him all that was necessary to reassure him that the road was clear. Jensen's expression contorted, and Jared hesitated to ask him what was wrong. The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air, Jensen's scream echoing in his ears.

If Jensen hadn't been distracted by the thirst burning in his throat, he could have caught Jared sooner, before the car hit him and then kept on going. " _Jared!_ " Jensen screamed, darting into the road to haul Jared into his arms and then flee to a deserted alley, blessing his superhuman speed for the first time since he was turned. He had to bite Jared, had to get the healing agent into Jared's system. "Jared, Jared, hold on, God, Jared, please, please, please—" Jensen carefully laid Jared out on the ground, his stomach rolling with the stench of pain and fear coming from himself and Jared. Jensen's hands fluttered over Jared's body, but there was so much damage—

"Jared, buddy, can you hear me? Jared, I'm gonna save you, I swear," Jensen managed to choke out, bending to bite at Jared's wrists and both sides of his neck, tearing Jared's shirt off so he could spread more bites over Jared's chest, trying to force his saliva into Jared in as many points as possible. Jared's heartbeat was still slowing, though.

Jared had no idea what Jensen was doing; the pain of the bites was completely indistinguishable from the pain everywhere else. He was being engulfed by agony, his vision graying at the edges with it, and the blood soaking into his jeans was doing absolutely nothing to keep him warm. "Jen," he choked out, yet more blood bubbling at his lips. "Jen, where are you? I can't see you."

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Jensen sobbed, his hands flying to cradle Jared's face. "Jared, no, you bastard, don't you dare fucking leave me like this! You weren't supposed to die, you were supposed to—" Jensen cut himself off, a wild, frenzied idea coming to his mind. He'd sworn never to do it, but this was _Jared,_ dammit, the one person Jensen absolutely could not live without. Jensen quickly bit at his own wrist; Jared had Jensen's venom in his veins, he just needed the direct blood to activate the change. "Jared, baby, please, drink," he whispered, pushing his bleeding wrist to Jared's mouth.

Jared felt like he was drowning in his own blood, and when he opened his mouth to suck in a desperate breath, he inhaled even more. He panicked, and struggled against Jensen's hold, certain he was about to die—but the blood on his tongue wasn't thick and metallic and smothering; it was flowing readily past his lips and it tasted... Jared made a strangled sound and sank his teeth into Jensen's wrist just to keep him from pulling away. Out of his mind with pain and blood loss, he drank what Jensen was offering him until he could drink no more—and then he passed out.

Jensen almost freaked out when Jared's heart stopped, and only a subtle shift in Jared's scent—a sudden spice that Jensen recognized as his own scent—kept him from completely breaking down. He grabbed Jared's head, staring into Jared's face, praying that Jared's heart would start again, that Jensen hadn't been too late.

He was almost ready to give up when he heard a soft but definite _ba-dum._

***  
When Jared woke up, he was in bed, and he had absolutely no recollection of the night before. Hopefully he'd had a good time, either with Jensen or with someone else, because this kind of pain was worth only the best sex. His whole body was aching. And speaking of Jensen, he was in the room. 

Jared could smell him.

The thought wasn't quite enough to freak him out just yet, and when he cracked one eye open to find his friend, the room was so bright that it blinded him. He covered his face with a hand and groaned. "Shit... I feel like I got hit by a truck. How much did I drink?"

"Oh thank God," Jensen breathed, darting in to take Jared's hand. "How much do you remember?" he asked, worried how Jared was going to react once he figured out that Jensen had turned him against his will. Admittedly, it had been to save Jared's life, but Jared had told him when he found out about Jensen being a vampire that he didn't want to become one. Jensen couldn't bring himself to regret turning Jared, though, not when it meant that Jared was alive—in a way—and safe.

Jared couldn't for the life of him work out why Jensen thought it was appropriate to hold his hand, but he kind of liked it, so he wasn't going to complain. "I have no idea," he mumbled, frowning. When he risked opening his eyes again, the room was no less bright but the glare didn't hurt so bad—and there was Jensen, looking down at him in obvious concern. "We were going to a club. I don't... I don't know." Why was it such a struggle to remember? Jared growled in frustration, and then took a moment to register the fact that he could apparently growl now. _Huh_. "Did I at least get laid?" he asked hopefully.

Jensen's thumb idly stroked small circles into the back of Jared's hand as he worried his lower lip with his teeth. Finally he decided that he might as well get it over with; Jared was going to hate him whether Jensen told him or Jared figured it out himself. "Jared, you _did_ get hit by a truck," he said, as gently as possible considering what he was telling Jared. "We didn't even make it to the club. We were crossing the street and a speeding driver ran a red light and hit you."

Jared snorted, and then winced when his head throbbed in protest. "What, and you just whisked me away to my bed instead of taking me to a hospital? Yeah right, Jen." But the look on Jensen's face told Jared that he wasn't lying: he had been hit by a truck, and judging from the circles around his friend's eyes, it had been bad. A cold weight settled in the pit of Jared's stomach. "Jensen..." he began warily. "How am I still in one piece?"

Jensen's hand tightened instinctively around Jared's, then he made himself take a deep breath and release it, tucking both hands into his lap. "You were dying," he whispered. "I couldn't—I turned you. You've been out for three days; I called the set, said you were sick and I was looking after you." Jensen squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look Jared in the eye. "I'm sorry, I know you didn't—But I—I couldn't lose you," he mumbled miserably, folding in on himself in the chair.

"You... You did _what?!_ " Jared spluttered. If he was honest with himself, he'd known from the moment he opened his eyes, but to have it confirmed... He felt sick. He felt betrayed. "Jesus Christ, Jensen! I didn't want this; I _told you_ I didn't want this! What happened to you wasn't your fault, but you knew I wanted to stay human and you turned me anyway? I trusted you!" Jared cut himself off, silently willing Jensen to look at him, but he was too cowardly. "You should have left me to die," he snarled, furious. "Get out."

Jensen flinched, but really, it was what he deserved. He’d been selfish, turning Jared. Just because he couldn’t stand to face his eternity alone sooner rather than later didn’t mean he had to turn into James. And yet, he had.

“Okay,” he murmured, getting up out of the chair. “I’ll—“ He hesitated, looking down at Jared, but then shook his head and just walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the living room, where he sat down heavily on the couch. Harley jumped up and shoved his head under Jensen’s arm, and Jensen turned, burying his face in Harley’s fur to muffle the sounds he made as he tried to keep himself under control. He couldn’t leave Jared all alone, not now. Jared was a new vampire; he’d need guidance. Jensen may have forced this on him, but he wasn’t going to leave Jared to figure it out by himself like Jensen had had to. Jared didn't emerge from his bedroom several hours, but by the time he did, he felt kind of stupid. Jensen had changed his life irrevocably without his permission—but he had also _saved_ his life. Without Jensen, Jared wouldn't be walking around right now, and that had to count for something. It was this realization that prompted Jared to get out of bed and shuffle, mindful of his aching joints, into the living room.

It was kind of surprising to find Jensen there, cuddled up with his dogs, but it was an adorable sight and Jared was relieved to discover that he wasn't alone. He cleared his throat. "I didn't want this," he murmured when Jensen looked up at him, repeating his words from earlier. "I _really_ didn't want this. I'm angry and I'm, shit, I'm fucking terrified. But I get why you did it, and as much as I'd rather not be a vampire, I guess I'll take that over being dead. I just... I need some time, okay?"

Jensen nodded, biting his lower lip. "I really am sorry—I tried, you know. The saliva heals as well. I tried to save you with just that, but it wasn't working, and I couldn't—I just couldn't lose you." He gave Harley another pat and sat up, taking a deep breath. "You're going to be thirsty. You don't want to do what I did; I didn't know what was happening, I didn't feed for almost a week after I was turned. That was part of the reason why I was so fucked up."

Jared swallowed hard, suddenly uneasy. Jensen was right: he was starving. "You want me to... drink from someone?" he asked, and his stomach did an involuntary swoop of _no_. Just the thought of drinking blood made him feel sick. Could vampires throw up? "I don't know if I can do that, Jensen."

Jensen studied Jared thoughtfully for a second. "You could drink from me," he said quietly. "It won't work as well as human blood, but it'll be enough to tide you over until I can either get some from someone, or you can feed from them yourself."

Jared blinked. "I, I'm not sure," he stammered, even as he took a step towards Jensen. Was this what it had been like when Jared has offered himself up? He wanted, he wanted _so bad_ , but he didn't know if he should dare.

Jensen's smile was tight; he wished that this—Jared feeding from him, biting him—was under much better circumstances. Preferably involving fewer clothes. "You can't hurt me," he said, his voice confident as he tilted his head, exposing the vein in his neck. "I'm older than you; by default, I'm stronger. I can stop you if you take too much. But I trust you."

Jared's gaze zeroed in on the stretch of Jensen's skin, pale and smooth with blood just beneath, and for all that the concept of drinking from a human turned his stomach, he knew with unwavering certainty that _Jensen's_ blood would taste divine. A second later he was directly in front of Jensen, and he had to take a moment so that his organs could catch up. "Are you sure?" he murmured once he'd regained his equilibrium, his lips already pressed to Jensen's throat. Once he heard Jensen's noise of consent, Jared wasted no more time; he closed his eyes, letting his body's new instincts take over, and bit down. 

Jensen let out a strangled sound of pleasure, one hand coming up to thread through Jared's hair, his fingers tightening against Jared's scalp as pleasure shot through him. He keened softly, arching into Jared's mouth. He'd forgotten just how intense the bite was.

After several moments, Jensen gently tugged at Jared's hair, detaching him from Jensen's neck. The wounds from Jared's teeth were already closing, and Jensen took in several deep breaths, fighting back his arousal. He could smell Jared's, but that was only to be expected; Jared's first meal as a vampire came from another vampire. He glanced up and was relieved to see that Jared's eyes were back to normal, no flash of red to signal hunger or anger. Then Jared's eyes flashed gold, and Jensen's breath caught. A vampire's eyes only flashed gold if the vampire was extremely aroused.

What Jensen didn't realize was that his eyes were gold, too—but Jared didn't have a clue what that meant and he was seeing everything through an incredibly dense fog of lust, so he didn't have time to analyze it. He backed off abruptly, breathing heavily, praying that Jensen hadn't found anything strange about his obvious arousal. That had been an incredibly intense experience, even more so than when Jensen had fed on him as a human, but no matter how badly he was aching for Jensen, he couldn't do anything about it. Jensen was aroused too, Jared could see that, but it was just his body's natural reaction; it would be taking advantage.  
"Thanks," Jared mumbled when he finally managed to drag his gaze away from Jensen's crotch. His tongue darted out to lick stray drops of delicious blood from his lips. He definitely understood why Jensen had been so worried about addiction now. "Does it... always taste like that?"

Jensen forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply, absolutely _not_ breathing in Jared's heady scent. "I don't know; I've only ever fed from a vampire once," he replied, his voice slightly breathless. Jared still looked a bit dazed, and suddenly Jensen found himself remembering James's words: _When there are strong, unrequited feelings involved on the vampire's part, a bond develops._  

Jensen felt like he'd taken a bullet to the chest. What had he done?

***  
Jared took the rest of the week off work while he tried to get used to the way his body worked now. Jensen stayed with him, teaching him what he could, but he seemed distant, almost stand-offish. This didn't make sense to Jared. _He_ was the new vampire, not Jensen, and everything was out in the open now—there was no need for things between them to return to the way they had been back when this had all started. But that was exactly what it felt like. Jensen was pulling away again, just when Jared needed him the most.

The night before they were due to go back to work, Jensen took Jared to a club. He hadn't let Jared feed from him since that first day, and Jared was getting weak; one more day and he wouldn't be able to control himself around humans. It took a lot of persuading, but eventually the hunger became too much. Jared drank from three different people that night, with Jensen on standby to keep him from killing them, and he made a discovery. Human blood was delicious—but Jensen's blood still tasted better.

Now they were back on set, with the producers bitching at them for pushing filming back a whole week, and it was all Jared could do not to growl at them. If these guys had any idea what they'd both been through since signing up for this show, they'd be run out of town. Eventually the lecture came to an end, and filming began. The writers had finally broached the subject of S and Tom becoming love interests, with S actively pursuing Tom when the cop was off-duty just to piss him off, which meant that Jared was in for a day of having Jensen draped all over him. Not that it was a problem—quite the opposite—but Jared had to pretend he hated it.

As was expected of him, Jared got his own back at lunch. He groped Jensen's ass in the food line, planted a kiss on his cheek when they sat down beside each other to eat, and made a show of crawling into his lap when they'd both discarded their plates. It was all for the cameras, of course—the Jared Padalecki his fans knew and loved was not the type to let his costar get all the fun, and it was kind of his job to wind Jensen up as much as possible—but he was secretly enjoying it. Jensen blushed so pretty when he was embarrassed.

Jensen grinned and bore Jared's clinginess, even going so far as to instigate some off-camera cuddling himself. Once they got back to the apartment, however, Jensen made sure to stay away from Jared, not wanting to strengthen the bond between them. Every time he thought of James's words, Jensen felt sick. He'd never wanted Jared to be tied so closely to him, not because Jensen forced him into it. And Jared's behavior only confirmed the bond: He looked and smelled hurt every time Jensen pushed him away, and Jensen knew that Jared didn't like feeding from humans; he'd rather have fed from Jensen.

Jensen grabbed a soda from the fridge and locked himself in his room, dragging his tablet over, trying to distract himself from any thoughts of Jared.

Jared was just about done with Jensen's shit. All day he'd been able to smell Jensen's reluctance to participate in the scenes and their usual off-camera antics, as well as his eagerness to get away from Jared. The snick of the lock on Jensen's bedroom door was the final straw. They didn't even lock the _bathroom_ door, because there was just no need. If Jensen wanted his privacy then that was fine—but actually locking Jared out? That was not okay.

Jared took a moment to feed the dogs and do some unnecessary tidying around the living room, and when he felt calm enough he approached Jensen's bedroom. He knocked—or rather, he hammered. Apparently he wasn't as calm as he'd thought. "Jensen, stop hiding like a fucking coward," he yelled through the wood. "Whatever problem you have, get out here and say it to my face!"

Jensen could feel himself getting angry, but he forced himself to take several deep breaths before he got to his feet and walked over, unlocking the door. "I don't have a problem with you, Jared," he said quietly, not looking Jared in the eye. "I've got a problem with myself."

Jared felt most of his anger dissipate, but the heat of it was still simmering away deep in his gut. Jensen was still being an asshole, but he looked tired; he sounded sad. It made Jared want to hug him, not yell at him. "What is it?" he asked softly, his eyes wide. 

Jensen scrubbed a hand over his face, shaking his head. "I just... Something James told me, when I was first turned," he muttered.

Jared frowned. Whatever James had said was clearly eating at Jensen, but Jared still had no idea why. "Is it something important? Something I should know?"

Jensen laughed, but it was humorless. "He told me never to turn you," he informed Jared. "Said that if I turned you, there'd be a bond between us."

That still didn't make any sense. "Well, I guess he's right," Jared offered. "You turned me, so maybe that means your blood is a part of me now." He laughed weakly. "You're like my vampire dad. But what's wrong with that? Obviously it's not a big deal, no matter what James said; he didn't seem too worried when he turned you."

“That's because James didn't have strong, unrequited feelings for me," Jensen muttered. "It creates a bond, stronger than that between a new vampire and its creator."

Jared's jaw hit the floor. _What?_ His heart was racing, his mind spinning as it replayed Jensen's words over and over again. Had he heard right? It was a ridiculous question; he knew instinctively that he had.

Time seemed to slow right down. It felt like hours passed before Jared found his tongue, but at last he was ready to speak. "You have strong, unrequited feelings for me?" he asked stupidly. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Jensen snapped. "Dammit, Jared, I've been fighting it for a while. Why do you think I jumped you that night at the club?" He barreled on before Jared had a chance to respond. "Because your blood tastes the best, because I'm in love with you! It's also why I couldn't just let you go," he mumbled miserably, his heart heavy with guilt.

This was a little bit too much information for Jared to handle. Jensen was in love with him. _Jensen_ was _in love_ with _him_. He felt kind of dizzy, like he'd just stood up too fast after lying flat on the floor, but he couldn't get swept up in this. He had to focus, he had to speak, because Jensen thought his feelings were unrequited. _Jesus_.

"It's not just you," Jared blurted out, and he had no idea what he was saying but he was taking Jensen's hand and pulling him in until they were standing chest-to-chest. "Your blood tastes the best, too. God, Jensen, you've always been the best. I love you." And then he was sliding his fingers over Jensen's jaw, tilting his face up just so, and they were kissing.

Jensen let Jared kiss him for a moment, because he was so tired of fighting it. Then it hit him what Jared had said: He had parroted everything Jensen had just said back to him. He wrenched his mouth away, pushing against Jared's chest and stepping back, his hands raised, shaking his head furiously. "No," he said, tears pricking at his eyes. "No. You don't—You don't mean that, Jared. You're just—It's the bond. It makes you do whatever it takes to make me happy." Jensen wrapped his arms around himself, wishing that he was alone so he could indulge in a good cry; why did his life suck so much?

Hurt pierced Jared's chest, and for a long moment he couldn't do anything except stare at Jensen. This wasn't happening. He loved Jensen, and Jensen loved him, and now that they'd finally figured it out Jensen didn't think it was real? "That's not true," he choked out, tears already pricking in the corners of his eyes. "Jensen, it has nothing to do with the bond. I felt this way long before you turned me—long before _you_ were turned. Please, believe me."

Jensen just shook his head, unable to speak for his throat closing tight. It wasn't true; how could it be true? Jensen would've known, would've spotted it, if Jared was in love with him for as long as he claimed. Jensen bit back a sob and just sat down on the bed. "How can it be true?" he whispered, his voice breaking.

"It just is, Jen," Jared sighed, letting out a shaky breath as he stepped cautiously into Jensen's bedroom. "The day we met, I knew you were gonna break my heart. Straightest guy I'd ever laid eyes on and so gorgeous. You took my breath away." He laughed, but it was an empty sound—there was no humor to be found here. "I crushed on you for about two years and then I realized I wasn't just crushing anymore. I've been completely gone for you this whole time; I just couldn't tell you because I didn't want to lose what we already had." On a whim, Jared inched closer, and when Jensen didn't protest he moved to kneel between Jensen's knees, looking up at him with wide, watery eyes. "Don't dismiss the way I feel by blaming it on some bond that probably doesn't even exist. Who are you gonna believe here, some asshole who's done nothing but torment you, or your best friend?"

Jensen pressed the heel of one palm against his eyes, still shaking his head slowly. He wanted to believe Jared, he wanted to so badly, but... Well, he'd been denying how he felt for so long, it was hard to believe that Jared could ever— _did_ —feel the same way. His breath hitched, and he unconsciously rocked forward, closer to Jared. "I want to you believe you," he whispered, his voice rough. "I want to believe you so badly."

Jared slid his hands up Jensen's thighs, hoping the touch would ground them both. "It's the truth, I swear," he breathed, and he was so close that he could feel Jensen's breath on his face. "I'm so in love with you. And I bet that James knows it; I bet he wants us apart for some reason. Because this isn't new, it didn't just happen when you turned me. Why do you think I gave you that script, made you take the part? Supernatural was over and everyone expected us to go our separate ways, but I just couldn't lose you. I don't know how to live without you."

Jensen laughed, but it sounded more like a sob, and then he was lunging forward, kissing Jared frantically. He was holding Jared's head in his hands, tilting it so he could better reach Jared's lips. He could taste the salt from the tears he hadn't managed to keep in, and he let out a strangled sob which morphed into words. "Me too, me too, God, Jared, I couldn't—couldn't live without you, I thought I was going to die, thought I'd be alone, couldn't let you go, I love you, so much—" He kissed Jared again, repeated that last phrase over and over between kisses.

Jared sobbed into Jensen's mouth, and when they'd both started crying he didn't have a clue, but he didn't care; he was happier than he could ever remember being. "Dumbass," he mumbled between kisses, winding his fingers into Jensen's hair. "How could I not love you? How could I ever leave you? Was gonna follow you around forever and hope that you never noticed why, you fucking—" He pushed up, shoving Jensen back onto the bed and straddling his hips, all without breaking their kiss. "How long? God, how long have I been missing out on this?"

"Don't know," Jensen mumbled, too interested in Jared's body on top of his, how good it felt; better than he'd ever imagined. "Seems like I've loved you forever." He ran his hands down Jared's back, and tugged at the hem of Jared's shirt, pulling it off of Jared so fast he thought he heard a seam pop. "Christ, Jare," he murmured reverently, running his hands down Jared's chest and abs.

Jared moaned and arched into Jensen's touch, loving the way his hands felt on his skin. "You have seen me shirtless before," he joked, but he was already pawing at Jensen's shirt, eager to get it off. "Help a guy out here?"

"Never got to touch, though," Jensen pointed out, sitting up to yank his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side. He leaned forward and kissed Jared again, moving to nip his way down Jared's jaw and to the other vampire's neck, hesitating with his lips pressed to the point where Jensen could feel the vein jumping beneath his lips. "Can I?" he whispered into the skin.

Jared whined and automatically tilted his head to the side, exposing more of his throat to Jensen's lips. "Please," he gasped, his breath coming in harsh, desperate pants. "Do it. Want it so bad, Jensen..."

Jensen growled approvingly and bit down, blood trickling over his tongue as his teeth broke the skin. He groaned in pleasure; Jared's blood still tasted just as amazing as Jensen remembered. He drank greedily, alternately lapping at the blood and nipping at the skin to keep the wound open.

Jared's arousal spiked when Jensen's teeth broke the skin, and when he started to drink every nerve ending in Jared's body began to sing. He cried out, his eyes fluttering closed as wave after wave of overwhelming pleasure crashed over him. It felt even better than he remembered. One hand cradled the back of Jensen's head, urging him to keep drinking, while the other rubbed at the bulge at the front of his jeans. "God, yes," Jared moaned when Jensen's teeth pierced him again, already flicking at the button beneath his fingers. "Gotta touch you. Please, Jensen, let me."

Jensen didn't release his grip on Jared's neck as he angled his hips to allow Jared easier access to Jensen's zipper. "Do it," he growled, his hands tightening on Jared's hips. "Do it, Jared; I don't want you touching yourself, though. Bet you can come untouched, just from me biting you, kissing you, and you touching me."

Jared had absolutely no doubt, and he rose to the challenge—quite literally. He pulled at Jensen's jeans until he managed to get them open and then pushed his hand beneath denim and cotton to find flesh. Jared moaned. Jensen was hard, hot and heavy against his palm, and Jared had never thought this day would come but he wasn't going to waste a single second of it. He pulled Jensen's dick out and started to stroke him as best he could given the awkward angle, swiping his thumb over the head on the upstroke. "God, Jensen, you feel so good," he babbled, his other hand tightening in Jensen's hair. "More, take more, _please_." 

Jensen gladly drank more, worrying at Jared's neck as he rocked up into Jared's grip, a low moan escaping his throat. His fingers dug into Jared's hips as pleasure spread through him, and Jensen had to detach from Jared's neck, surging up to claim Jared's lips again.

Jared yielded readily to the kiss, eagerly licking the taste of his own blood out of Jensen's mouth. It was strangely erotic, and Jared's hand tightened compulsively on Jensen's cock, squeezing as he stroked. This provoked a positive reaction, so Jared did it again, working it into his rhythm even as he sped up the pace. 

"Bite me," Jensen growled, his hands coming up to bury themselves in Jared's hair. "Bite me, Jared." He leaned forward and kissed Jared hard enough to bruise the other man's lips, yanking encouragingly on Jared's hair as he moved to bite down on Jared's shoulder.

Out of his mind turned on, Jared was helpless to do anything but follow Jensen's instructions. He pressed his face into Jensen's neck, still working his cock, and sank his teeth into the skin beneath his lips. Jensen's own teeth had brought Jared right to the edge, and the sudden rush of warm, rich blood over his tongue was the final straw. Jared came hard, jerking and moaning like a goddamn teenager as he was overcome by pleasure so intense that his vision whited out. 

The sudden spike of ecstasy in Jared's blood, coupled with the delicious groan Jared let out and Jared biting him shoved Jensen over the edge, and he came, Jared's name leaving his lips in a hoarse shout.

As they slowly came down from the high, Jensen dragged in a deep breath. The air tasted like blood, arousal, sex, and contentment. With a soft groan, Jensen flopped backwards, taking Jared with him and then rolling them so he could pillow his head on Jared's chest. "That was fucking amazing," he mumbled.

Jared hummed in agreement, tracing idle patterns into Jensen's skin with his fingertips while he bathed in the afterglow. "We're definitely doing that again," he added, a smirk in his voice. "But with less clothing next time." Already he could feel his boxers starting to stick to him, and things were going to get really uncomfortable really quickly if he didn't move soon. A thought occurred to him, and he nudged Jensen. "Shower?"

Jensen snickered but levered himself up onto his elbows. "All right then, c'mon," he said, leaning down to kiss Jared again before tugging him off of the bed and to the shower. "Let's go test out vampire stamina."

***

The next few weeks settled into an easy pattern for Jensen and Jared. Filming was coming along nicely, and the director—actually, the whole crew—had heaved a collective sigh of relief when Jensen and Jared had shown up on set holding hands. The reactions had ranged from "It's about damned time!" to "Dammit, you owe me 50 bucks!"

About a week before the next new moon, Jensen and Jared were cuddling on the couch when Jensen reached up and poked Jared in the side of the face. "Hey," he said, poking Jared again. "Let's go out tonight."

Jared smirked and turned to catch Jensen's finger between his teeth, sucking on it for a long moment before releasing it. "Do we have to?" he whined, tightening the arm he had around Jensen. "It's not like we have a real reason to go out." He knew full well that that wasn't true. Tomorrow they would start filming the episode Jensen was directing, and Jared had watched him buzzing with excitement all week—he just liked being an asshole.

Jensen smacked Jared in the chest, scowling. "Jackass," he snorted. "You know full well we've got a reason." He got up and yanked Jared off of the couch. "C'mon, get dressed. We're going out, and drinking, and feeding, and then coming home and fucking like bunnies," he announced as he shoved Jared in the direction of the bedroom.

Jared pouted and pulled Jensen in for a kiss. "Can't we just skip to the fucking like bunnies part?" he wheedled, not really serious. The look Jensen gave him had him scurrying to the bedroom, shouting, "Okay, okay! I'm going!" through his laughter. 

Two hours later they were sat at the bar in The Bleeding Heart, pressed close together so that Jared could run possessive hands over Jensen's body, his nose rubbing along Jensen's cheek. "I still hate it when you feed from other people," he murmured, his lips brushing Jensen's jaw as he spoke. "I know it's necessary, but seeing them get all worked up... You're mine. They should know that." Jensen turned his head then and indulged Jared in a slow, sensual kiss that soothed all of his jealousy and left him feeling sated and relaxed, the blood in his belly finally doing its job. A movement in the corner of Jared's eye caught his attention and he looked over, vaguely surprised to see a familiar blond watching them from across the dance floor. He nosed at Jensen's cheek again. "Isn't that James?"

Jensen was feeling smug and half-drowsy. He had the most gorgeous man in the club draped over him, his thirst was sated, and was going to be going home with said gorgeous man. Jared's words, however, snapped him out of his smugness. His head whipped around, his lips pulling into a snarl when he spotted James. "Yeah, that's James," he growled.

Jared felt the shift in Jensen's mood and instantly regretted pointing James out. He pressed his face into Jensen's neck. "Just leave him. He had his fun but he can't mess with us now. He's not worth it."

Jensen didn't look at Jared, instead narrowing his eyes at James. He didn't like James being at the same club, or looking at them like that. It was almost enough to make his skin crawl.

Jared bit down gently on Jensen's shoulder, hoping to get his attention, but it was too late—James was approaching.

"Well well," the older vampire drawled when he drew close enough, a malicious light in his eyes. "Seems like you invoked the bond after all. Jensen, I didn't know you had it in you."

Jared lifted his head to glare at James. "You're wasting your breath. We saw through your bullshit," he said archly.

James glowered. "Shut up," he spat. "You're nothing but a willing sex slave, and _he_ knows it." He inclined his head towards Jensen but didn't take his eyes off Jared. Maybe he could still sew some seeds of doubt, even if they just led Jared to believe that Jensen thought he'd been using him this whole time.

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Somehow I'm not surprised that you get your rocks off on trying to ruin people's lives," he said, arching an eyebrow as he turned around, slipping an arm around Jared's waist. "We sorted that whole mess out, no thanks to you." Jensen studied James for a second before letting a slow smirk cross his lips. "Tell me: were _you_ jealous that Jared was in love with me? Or are you just an ass?"

James laughed. Sure, he could keep this up and try to drive a wedge between them, but they seemed pretty much inseparable. It would be a wasted effort. "Don't flatter yourself, Jensen," was what he settled on saying, a smirk curving his lips. "Jared may think the sun shines out of your ass but I don't. It's kind of pathetic, actually. That's why."

Jensen rolled his eyes. "The sun _does_ shine out of my ass; you're just delusional," he deadpanned, then sobered. "Why are you here?"

James raised an eyebrow. "The same reason as you two, I'm guessing; I was hungry. Is that a problem?"

"That's not what I mean, and you know it. You didn't have to come over here and interact with us," Jensen pointed out, shifting closer to Jared and taking a deep breath to try to keep his anger at bay.

James shrugged, and watched as Jared slid his hand over Jensen's leg, clearly trying to soothe him. "Just wanted to bask in the glow of your love," he answered, his voice dripping with disdain. "I have to admit that you've done well for yourself, Jensen. This one here is just... delicious." James reached out to trail a finger down Jared's cheek, laughing when he jerked away. "I've thought so for a while. If I'd seen him first I might have left you alone that night."

Jensen growled, the sound rumbling low and deep in his chest. "Fuck off," he snarled. "You've had your fun, screwing with our lives."

James grinned. "You're right, I have." He turned to leave, but then hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. "If you ever get bored of following him around like a lost puppy, Jared, look me up. I'll show you how to live like a _real_ vampire."

Oh, that was _it._ Jensen yanked his arm from around Jared's waist and bounded after James, spinning the vampire around by the shoulder. "I think you forgot something," he snarled. "Jared is _mine._ "

Then he hauled back and punched James in the face, his fist making contact with James's nose hard enough to produce a satisfying _crack._

James staggered back but regained his footing quickly, and spat the blood that had run down into his mouth at Jensen's face. "Trust me," he snarled, reddened teeth bared. "You're both mine the moment I want either of you." He drew his fist back, ready to deliver a blow of his own, but then Jared was there, along with the club's security. James hesitated. The humans he could take, but Jared was huge and freshly fed; he would cause more of a problem.

The hesitation was all Jared needed. He forced his way between the two vampires and shoved James back, his eyes flashing a deadly red. "Get out," he ordered. "There's nothing for you here."

Jensen could feel himself still growling under his breath, though he couldn't hear it through the blood pounding in his ears. He didn't trust himself to speak civilly, or even coherently, so instead he focused on dragging in deep breaths, using Jared's scent to ground him.

James may have been the older vampire, but he still didn't fancy his chances against both Jared and Jensen. He took a step back, holding his hands up in supplication. "Fine. I'll go. When the puppy love goes south, give me a call." He turned and left the club faster than the human eye could track him, but Jared's glare followed him until he was out of the door.

"Gonna have to ask you to leave as well, sir," said a man to Jensen's left, all business as he gestured to the front of the club. "We don't tolerate fighting. Go home and sleep it off, man."

Jensen just nodded. "Yeah, I understand," he said, his voice neutral. He turned to Jared, taking his hand. "Ready to move on to the next portion of our evening?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow and grinning suggestively. "I'm feeling a bit... _insecure_ after all that."

Jared grinned, feeling the tension bleed right out of him. He grabbed Jensen's hand. "I guess I'll have to find a way to reassure you then," he purred, pulling Jensen with him out of the club. 

When they got back to the apartment, Jensen dragged Jared into their bedroom, locked the door—somehow Harley had figured out how to open doors that weren't locked—and shoved Jared down onto the bed, attacking his clothes while he kissed Jared, hard, biting a path up Jared's neck, over his jaw, and to his mouth. "Gonna fuck you so good, Jay, make sure you know you're mine, no one else's, no one's ever gonna love you, fuck you, the way I do—" He couldn't seem to stop his mouth anymore than he could his hands, which were busy ripping off Jared's clothes. Jensen figured he could get away with it, though; James had been threatening his lover. He was allowed to be a little needy.

Jared writhed beneath Jensen, pulling at his shirt until it ripped open, scattering buttons everywhere. "Prove it," he panted once he'd pushed the shirt off, sliding his hands over Jensen's shoulders and down his back to grip his ass. "Show me who I belong to."

Jensen rumbled in approval, moving to bite down on the junction of Jared's neck and shoulder as he roughly pulled Jared's pants and boxers off. He took a second to lap at the blood welling from his bite, and then he moved down Jared's body, but paused when he reached Jared's navel. "Turn over," he ordered, his voice rough with arousal. "On your knees, lean down, and spread your cheeks with your hands."

Jared scrambled to follow Jensen's instructions, rolling onto his front with his ass in the air, face pressed into the pillow as he reached back to pull his cheeks apart. It was a decidedly embarrassing position, vulnerable and exposed, but Jared didn't care. He was safe; Jensen would never humiliate him.

There was a moment of stillness in which absolutely nothing happened. Jared could feel Jensen's eyes on him, and he trembled with arousal. " _Jen_..." he whined, barely resisting the urge to grind himself against the mattress. 

"Be still," Jensen scolded mildly, reaching out to run one hand down over Jared's ass. He tapped his thumb against Jared's hole, and made a curious noise. He leaned foward and tenderly scraped his teeth over one of Jared's cheeks before moving over and planting a kiss on top of Jared's hole. "Wonder how fast it'll take," he murmured, pulling Jared's thighs back and apart a bit farther, "before you start begging."

A strangled sound escaped from between Jared's clenched teeth and he buried his face even further into the pillow, even as he rocked his hips back, silently asking Jensen for more. He would beg, they both knew it, but he wasn't going to give Jensen the satisfaction of breaking so quickly. 

Jensen chuckled wickedly, letting his hands run up the backs of Jared's thighs, over his hips, and up Jared's back as Jensen moved his attention down the backs of Jared's thighs. He angled inward, nipping at the tendon on the inside of Jared's leg. He slowly worked his way up, leaving a trail of satisfyingly dark bruises in his wake. Jensen skirted around Jared's balls, dropping a quick kiss on the skin between them and Jared's hole before kissing Jared's hole, letting his tongue flick out and over it.

"Nngh, _Jensen_ ," Jared gasped, his words muffled by the pillow. "God, that feels good." Again his hips pushed back, chasing Jensen's tongue—but he still refused to beg. 

"Ah ah," Jensen admonished softly, pushing Jared's hips forward. "Stay." He waited a moment, making sure that Jared was staying put, before he leaned forward again. Instead of returning to Jared's hole, though, he transferred his attention to idly drawing and nipping random patterns into the flesh of Jared's ass.

Jared growled in frustration, fisting his hands in the sheets even as he tried not to rip them apart. They'd barely been together a month—how did Jensen already know exactly how to drive him crazy? "You fucking _tease_ ," he bit out, his resolve beginning to slip. "Get on with it!”

Jensen snickered, nosing at Jared's thigh before nipping again. "What's the magic word?" he sing-songed, unable to keep the shit-eating grin off of his face. They'd been together-together for a short time, but they'd been friends and roommates for so much longer; there were just things that couldn't be hidden, like when one of them was about to reach their breaking point.

" _Now_?" Jared snarked, still unwilling to give Jensen the upper hand. He blinked sweat out of his eyes and stifled a moan when Jensen bit him again. He wasn't going to last much longer.

Jensen could feel every muscle in Jared's body quivering like a plucked bowstring, and he chuckled. "Nope, try again." He casually rubbed his thumb in slow circles on Jared's hip, his mouth moving to the other one to nip and lick at the skin there.

Jared groaned and arched his back like a cat, desperate to get closer. Jensen's teeth grazing against his skin was the final straw and he started to babble, helpless to stop the words that tumbled from his lips. "My God, you fucking jerk, get your tongue back to where I want it! Please, Jen, _please_."

"Was that so hard?" Jensen teased, spreading Jared open before darting in and doing what he wanted almost more than Jared did. He swiped the flat of his tongue over Jared's hole before spitting and then setting to work getting Jared's hole as wet and open as he could with his tongue, humming in pleasure.

It was unlike anything Jared had ever felt before. Dirty and wrong and _so fucking good_ , he couldn't help but roll his hips back, trying to fuck himself on Jensen's tongue. "Oh, oh God," he moaned, gasping for breath. "More, Jensen, don't stop, don't fucking stop."

Jensen hummed, smug satisfaction warming his limbs as he continued to fuck his tongue in and out of Jared. After another few moments, he raised his head enough to growl, "Lube. Condom. Bedside table. Either one."

It took a considerable amount of effort, but at last Jared managed to find the strength to pull open the drawer in the bedside table and rummage around inside. His fingers closed around a small bottle that felt promising and he tossed it back to Jensen, landing face-first in the pillow once more. "No condom," he mumbled. "Just you."

Jensen couldn't help the hissed, "Fuck," that escaped him. He fumbled for the bottle, and managed to get some lube on his hand, but most of it landed on the sheets. He quickly replaced his tongue with one finger, working Jared open before adding a second one and beginning the hunt for Jared's prostate. The moan Jared let out when Jensen's fingers finally rubbed up against it had Jensen squeezing the base of his cock, trying not to come before he even had a chance to be inside Jared.

Jared was in pretty much the same predicament, right on the edge and still desperate for more. He shoved back, impaling himself further on Jensen's fingers, and groaned. "Fuck, hurry up," he ordered, his voice cracking under the strain of keeping his orgasm at bay. "Get me ready, Jen, wanna come on your cock."

"Fuck, Jay," Jensen muttered, slipping in a third finger—too soon, as evidenced by the slightly pained hiss Jared let out. Jensen made himself wait, thoroughly stretching Jared, before finally panting, "Jesus, Jared, can't wait anymore." He grabbed the lube and dripped some more into his palm, slicking his cock with it before grabbing Jared's hips with one hand and using the other to guide himself into Jared, pressing in slowly but insistently.

Jared keened as Jensen entered him, his hands back to scrabbling at the sheets. It hurt—fuck, it _burned_ —but in a good way. It had been a while, but he was no virgin; he knew that soon enough the pain would give way to pleasure and nothing would matter anymore except the sweet slide of Jensen's cock in and out of his body. Jared was panting by the time Jensen was all the way in, and thankfully he was granted a few moments to adjust to the intrusion. Once those few moments were up, it was like a switch had been flicked; he clenched his muscles around Jensen once and then relaxed them, yielding completely to his lover. " _Move_ ," he growled. 

Jensen gasped in shock and pleasure when Jared clenched, and he chuckled breathlessly. "Pushy little thing, aren't you?" He slowly pulled back, till only the tip of his dick was still inside Jared, and then pushed back in just as slowly, repeating the motion a few times until an impatient noise from Jared had him speeding up his rhythm.

Just as Jared had predicted, everything had zeroed down to Jensen's cock moving in and out of him; Jensen's breath on his neck; Jensen's voice in his ear. Jared was moving with him, meeting him thrust for thrust and moaning like a whore whenever Jensen hit his prostate. Words like " _yes_ " and " _please_ " and " _more_ " were spilling helplessly from his lips, and when at last he felt Jensen's rhythm falter, he reached down to get a hand on his dripping cock. "Bite me," he gasped, working himself furiously. "Gonna come, oh _God_ , bite me, Jensen."

Jensen obliged, leaning forward to bite down on the back of Jared's neck, reduced to animalistic levels of communication. He circled his hips a bit, shifting so that the head of his cock dragged over Jared's sweet spot on every thrust. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to release, but he held off, wanting Jared to come first.  
Oh yeah, biting was definitely going to become an important part of sex. The moment Jensen sunk his teeth into him, the pleasure intensified so fast that lights popped in front of Jared's eyes. He cried out and had to released his cock to slam his hand into the mattress, but it didn't matter. A few more thrusts coupled with the rush from Jensen sucking his blood had Jared coming all over the sheets with a hoarse shout of Jensen's name. 

Jensen could feel Jared's release in the way Jared's hole clenched around his cock, and taste it in the sudden spike of Jared's blood. It was enough to have him coming with a growl, biting down harder on Jared's neck as his hips twitched. When he finished, he carefully loosened his grip on Jared's neck, lapping up the rest of the blood as he slowly slipped out.

"Christ," he panted, resting his forehead between Jared's shoulders. "You're just... wow."

Jared managed to huff out a breathy chuckle, turning his face away from the pillow to smile lazily back at Jensen. "You're not so bad yourself," he murmured, and then sighed, deep and contented. "Now get off me. It's time to sleep."

Jensen nipped Jared playfully between the shoulder blades, but he did roll off of Jared, manhandling him until Jared was on his back and Jensen could sprawl on top of him. "Night," he murmured. "Love you."

***  
S glanced around the prison cell, an amused look on his face as he glanced up at the camera. "You know, if you want to catch me doing something incriminating," he said casually, idly examining his hand, "you should make the camera less obvious."  
It was all part of the plan, of course. S needed to send a signal that he was top dog and more than ready and willing to defend his territory. What better way to do that than to be arrested for a murder he had committed—although he preferred the term "tying up a loose end;" "murder" was so crass—and then walk away, scot free?

Tom had to pause to his hands on his pants before entering the room. He was nervous—this guy had been taunting him for weeks, but he still had no idea why—but S couldn't see that. Once he'd calmed his rapid breathing, he opened the door and walked in, the perfect image of 'cool and collected'. Almost. There was sweat beading at his temple.

"Why would we need to catch you doing something incriminating?" he asked innocently, pacing back and forth in front of the cell. "In case you hadn't noticed, we've already got you."

S eyed the slightly damp patch on Tom's pants, raising one eyebrow. "Really?" he countered. "From where I'm standing, you're holding me on probable cause. Not concrete evidence. And," he added, glancing at his watch, "my attorney is due here any moment." His gaze flicked back up to rake over Tom. The newest homicide detective was... nervous. How adorable.

S had been pursuing Tom for a while now, ever since Tom had shown up at the dump site of one of S's former employees who had gotten a bit too big for his britches. "Tell me, Tom," he purred. "Why weren't you afraid when I took you? Nervous, yes, but I don't believe you were afraid."

"I knew you wouldn't kill a cop," Tom said automatically, only the slightest waver to his voice. "We both know you murdered that guy, but you're right, so far we haven't got any substantial evidence. If you'd killed me, they would have put you away for a long time. You're not that stupid." It wasn't strictly true. S was good—killing a cop wouldn't have caused major problems for him. The truth was that Tom felt strangely safe with S, had trusted that S wouldn't kill _him_.  He hadn't admitted that to anyone but his dog though, and he certainly wasn't going to admit it to S.

A slow smile curved S's lips. "Let's go with that, although you and I both know there's more at work here," he agreed. His gaze flicked over Tom's shoulder, and the smile turned to a smirk. "Before my attorney arrives, there's something I want to give you. Call it a... show of good-will." He moved closer to the bars, gripping one in each hand. "Do you trust me?"

Tom swallowed hard. "No," he answered, but his voice shook and he took a few steps toward S anyway. "What is it?"

S grinned. "Closer," he instructed, and when Tom complied, both of his hands shot out and fisted in Tom's shirt, yanking him forward. Tom crashed into the cell bars, and S lunged forward, capturing Tom's lips in a brutal kiss. He licked across the seam and then nipped the lower one before releasing Tom and taking a step back, grinning smugly. "I'll have one of my tech guys erase the footage," he said casually as he moved to sit on the bench.

Tom stared, clearly shaken, and brought a hand up to rub at his mouth. He could still taste S when he licked his lips, and he closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. When he opened them again, S was still there, wearing that shit-eating grin. Tom gave him a tentative smile in return. "You'd better," was all he said before he turned and left the room.

S felt his grin widen, and it didn't waver as his attorney showed up and got him out of the cell and back into the car. As they were driving down the street, he arranged for one of his hackers to get into the system and erase the entire conversation between him and Tom. When his assistant asked him what he was so pleased about, S just shook his head and refused to answer.

***  
"It's starting!" Jared yelled around a mouthful of popcorn, calling to Jensen, who was in the kitchen getting drinks. "Hurry up!" It had been several months since they'd finished filming, and so far they'd managed to avoid watching the weekly episodes of Crime and Punishment, both of them feeling awkward about watching themselves on screen. This, however, was a special occasion; it was the season finale. As soon as Jensen joined him on the couch Jared cuddled in close, squirming so that he could fish his phone out of his pocket. "Need to keep an eye on the reactions," he chuckled when Jensen gave him an incredulous look. "They're gonna go _spare_."

Jensen snickered. "True," he admitted, slipping an arm around Jared's shoulders. So far they'd managed to keep their relationship from the public eye, which was an immense relief to both of them. They already got crazy enough questions at conventions. "You checking tumblr?"

"You know it," Jared answered with a smile, resting his head on Jensen's shoulder. "The 'J2' tag is open and ready to explode. Now shut up, I'm trying to watch this. One of the guys in it is _so_ hot."

Jensen laughed. "Only one?" he teased.

"Only one," Jared confirmed. "That cop guy is smokin'. Now shut up and let me watch."

The season finale was, naturally, the episode in which S got caught, temporarily, and he and Tom shared a kiss through the bars of the prison cell. It was actually quite difficult to watch up until that point, when Jared just nudged Jensen and said thoughtfully, "I think I've just realized why all the fangirls are so desperate for us to start fucking. That _was_ pretty hot." Speaking of fangirls, Jared's phone had started vibrating, notifying him of updates to different forums and the like, about five minutes before the kiss. Now, it felt like it was about to explode. Jared wordlessly handed it over to Jensen, almost afraid to look.

Jensen took the phone but put it on silent until the episode was over. Then he opened it up, both eyebrows flying up at the shitstorm going down in the j2 and Crime and Punishment tags on tumblr.

"Well," he said finally. "The majority of the C & P fans are celebrating, and the rest are sulking. And in j2, _everyone's_ celebrating. That kiss has been gif'ed over twenty-five times already."

Jared's laugh was somewhat uneasy as he slid his arm around Jensen's waist and dared to peer at the phone. Sure enough, Tom and S were making out all over the screen, different comments of the 'screeching, crying, dying' variety tagged onto each gif. "I think we made the entire fandom spontaneously combust," he mused, although he really wasn't sure why he was so surprised. "Do you think it's safe to come out for real yet?"

Jensen glanced over at Jared before fishing out his own phone. "I can get onto the official blog for Crime and Punishment, and Supernatural," he said casually. "We could put out a picture."

Jared grinned as he snatched Jensen's phone, pulling up the camera and angling it towards them. "Let's give them something to squeal about," he murmured, and drew Jensen in for a kiss.

Jensen grinned and kissed Jared back, deepening the kiss as he fumbled for the capture button. Once he heard the shutter go off, he slowly broke off the kiss, looking at the picture. He grinned, then uploaded it to both blogs with the caption "Guess whose six month anniversary is today?" He tagged it with as many relevant tags as he could think of, and then sat back to wait.

***  
"Jensen! Jensen!"

"Jared!"

"Jensen!"

" _Aaaaaaaahhh!_ "

Jared grinned as he walked out onto the stage, only slightly ahead of Jensen, and waved with the hand that wasn't busy holding his partner's. This set off another round of screaming, this one even more shrill than the last. They sat down beside each other and took up their microphones, and all at once the crowd fell silent. "Hey guys! Welcome to the first Crime and Punishment convention! How's it goin'?"

Jensen had to physically hold himself back from wincing and covering his ears at the roar the crowd let out. "Great to hear you're all doin' well!" he said, grinning into the microphone. They went through the usual start-up stuff before they finally took questions, and they both broke out in identical grins when the first question was, unsurprisingly, "Are you two really a couple now?"

Jensen grinned and yanked Jared over, depositing a searing kiss on his lips before leaning back. "That answer your question?"

The room practically exploded, and all Jared could do was beam at Jensen, a fact which would likely be all over the internet in matter of hours—if it wasn't already. "Now come on, guys," he laughed into his microphone when he thought he might stand a chance of being heard. "Aren't we supposed to be talking about the show here?" He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Jensen just tossed Jared a grin. "Indulge the fans, Jared; they've been waiting for a long time," he teased, ruffling Jared's hair. He waved the next person up to the mic.

"So, on that picture that was posted to the Crime and Punishment blog, it said it was your six month anniversary. That would put you two in a relationship around the time that they filmed the kiss between Tom and S. My question is, how did you two get together, and did it have to do with the show and your characters being interested in each other?"

"Nice question," Jensen complimented, then turned to Jared. "Well, I don't know. I think... Well, I've always been in love with Jared. I can't even tell you when I first realized I was in love with him; it just seems like we went from knowing each other to me being in love with him."

Jared flushed with pleasure at Jensen's words, and took a moment to formulate his own response. "It was basically the same for me," he admitted. "I fell for Jensen pretty much the moment I laid eyes on him. Who wouldn't, right?" The crowd whooped in agreement and Jared laughed. "Crime and Punishment did help us get together though. I think we were both really nervous as that scene got closer and closer, and for a while there I thought we were gonna fall out for good and go our separate ways. But Jensen's always been the brave one and he told me how he felt, and after that it was just... easy."

Jensen rolled his eyes as the audience cooed. "Jared's making it seem like I just marched up to him, shoved him up against the closest wall, told him I loved him, and kissed him, but the truth is that it was nowhere near anything like that." There were disappointed sounds from various points in the crowd, and he chuckled. "There was a lot of stuff going on outside of set and our lives, so when we both finally pulled our heads out of our asses, there were actually _tears_ involved."

"Yeah," Jared agreed over the 'awww's that this revelation generated. "Our first kiss _was_ kinda salty. But honestly—this is gonna sound really cheesy; I'm sorry—once I knew how Jensen felt and we'd cried it out together, everything else just sort of fell into place for me. I have the man I love at my side. What else could I need?"

"Nothing, except for questions about the actual show," Jensen said, grinning pointedly at the audience. "How about this: I sit in Jared's lap as long as the questions are about the _show._ Not just the ships."

The audience agreed unanimously, and Jensen moved over to sit on Jared's lap, leaning back to murmur, "Bribery. Never fails."

Jared just grinned and laughed against Jensen's neck.

***  
Later that night, Jared held a naked Jensen in his arms and thought about how much things had changed in the last year. Maybe it was odd that becoming a vampire wasn't at the top of his 'Most Significant Things That Have Happened' list, but it came a close second. Jensen, of course, was first. He had always been first. "We've come such a long way," Jared murmured, his fingers trailing absently up and down Jensen's bare arm. "But I'm glad that this is where we've ended up."

Jensen hummed in agreement, tracing lazy patterns over Jared's chest and abs. "Definitely couldn't have seen this coming. Any of it. Well, I hope we would have eventually gotten our shit straight about our feelings.”

Jared laughed. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. "I wasn't ever going to tell you. And without James doing what he did, I don't think you would have told me, either. Let's just face it: our lives have become a cheesy teenage romance novel."

Jensen laughed. "Honestly, I don't care as long as we're together now," he grinned. Then he lightly thwacked Jared in the chest. "C'mon, let's go to sleep. We've got more panels tomorrow, and we'll have to feed as well."

Jared grinned and kissed the top of Jensen's head. "We could always feed from a fangirl," he suggested, even as he drifted into sleep. "It might inspire her to write an epic fanfic."

Jensen just snickered.


End file.
